Star Wars: Tem Marr Series Part Four
by Trauwyn Marr
Summary: Tem Marr's training to become a Jedi by Cuun's order is going smoothly, but a distress call from Auwna Wenz brings the young man back to war. This time he is much more dangerously armed than before.


Tem Marr's training had progressed rapidly over the course of three months. He was now a Padawan, and was nearing his complete training to become a Jedi Knight. Xio Mara was proud, and worried. Tem hardly ever spoken, and when he wasn't training, he was locked in his room. Xio had left him alone and spent time with Nex Desmonth, who she had fallen in love. They used the Force to express their feelings and stimulate what a physical relationship could through touch and they were both happy. Xio was now strolling the corridors of the Temple alone, heading down an all too familiar path to the dormitories. Tem was late for one of his training sessions and now Xio had to get him, he was her responsibility after all. She knocked on the door, then palmed the keypad. The door hissed open but there was no one in the room. "Tem?" Xio probed the room with her voice, thinking Tem could be in the Refresher but no response came back. Xio looked around the room, and found a comlink resting on a table. She picked it up and thumbed the PLAY BACK button. "They came… losing fighters… jamming… we need reinfor-… hurry to Mana-… we _need_ you Te-…" Xio knew the voice of the Zabrak officer who worked under Tem before he began his training. Auwna Wenz was in trouble, and Tem had gone to help them. "Oh no." Xio murmured and dropped the comlink. She ran out of the room and towards the hangar, hoping to catch Tem before he left. If he hadn't already left. She burst into the hangar and looked around fervently for the giant Ore Hauler ship that belonged to Tem. "Xio! Over here!" Nex beckoned to her, waving frantically. "Tem's ship is about to take off!" Xio's heart skipped a beat and she ran towards the Jedi. "Where?" Xio asked frantically, panting from her running. "There! Quickly! He just finished loading supplies, if we hurry, we can make it up the landing ramp before it seals!" Nex shouted over the growing sound of engines thrumming. Xio nodded and ran towards the closing landing ramp. Nex boarded and extended his arm to grab Xio's, but the door was sealing and he would lose his arm if he kept it any longer. With a grunt, Xio leapt and rolled between the small space between the ship bulkhead and the landing ramp and sprawled out on the platform, panting. The ship shook underneath them and jetted off into space.

Tem sat in the cockpit, making sure all the jump coordinates were put in properly before unstrapping from his seat. He went to the transparisteel viewport behind the main viewport that stared into space, to look down at _Shooting Star_, a _Cyoto_-class starfighter he had salvaged last month from some junkyard on some backwater planet. There was still two days until Manaan, so that should give him enough time to install the new slave circuitry in the little _Cyoto_ and the giant Ore Hauler. Running his fingers through his hair, he turned away from the viewport and went to grab the emergency tool kit in the safety hatch. He was starting to have a bad feeling about all of this.

Xio and Nex had stowed away in a storage closet that seemed to be only used to collect old equipment and dust. Nex had found blankets for them, and they huddled together for warmth. Xio could tell that many of the ships systems had been shut down and it was running on the lowest life-support setting short of, what Spacers called, 'Slow Death'. Xio lay awake listening to the whine of electrical equipment in the Ore Hauler's mock-hangar as Tem worked. She had spied him a few times, working on the sleek, purple ship he had so desperately wanted. It was the only time he had spoken to her about anything other than to argue about the Teachings. He wasn't really going to attempt and save them, was he? No, he wouldn't. By the time he would get there, there would _be_ no ship to rescue. Or anyone. Xio shivered at the thought. What would happen to Tem if his friends had died? The possibilities seemed endless, and a dark figure seemed to loom in Xio's mind at Tem's fate. Turned to the Dark Side, filled with anger and hate, wielding the blood red lightsaber of a Sith Lord. It was certainly something to be afraid of. Tem wielded a lot of power, unnatural power. It was unsettling what he could do with the Force once he developed a technique. Sometimes even frightening how he created his own techniques and they _worked_ the first time. Xio yawned, and realized how tired she was. Pulling the blankets closer around herself, she nestled close to Nex and drifted off to sleep.

Warning buzzers sounded in Tem's ears, waking him from his sleep. He was back in the cockpit, covered in grease and grime from working on both ships. In fact, the control panel beside him was half finished. _Must've dozed off while I was working_… Tem thought sleepily, rubbing his eyes. He reached forward and pulled the hyperspace lever down. Starlines went back to being pinpricks across his canopy, and the blue orb of Manaan sat in front of him. Even from this distance, the sparks of a battle raging in the atmosphere was evident. "Hold on, guys." Tem said, as he quickly put the panel back together and sped towards the battle. The Ore Hauler had self-piloting controls, and was pretty useful for Tem. While the ship hurtled towards the battle, Tem busied himself inputting a flight path for the grimy ship to follow. The Ore Hauler would race around _Sundant Down_ and act as a safeguard, while Tem got rid of the other ships. At least, that's what he hoped. The Ore Hauler could be fairly unpredictable, and now would be a bad time for it to get a memory hiccup, crashing itself into _Sundant_. The droid brain was older than Tem, and was actually a part of the ship. It twittered and swiveled in an energy-well in the emergency closet, which was usually closed, so Tem hadn't gotten to know the ship very well. He stopped in mid-step and realized how odd it was to consider the ship living. Then again, droids could grow a personality after years without a memory wipe. Tem wondered if that was the same with ships and their droid brains, while he climbed into the _Star_'s cockpit. Tem had put in custom controls that were similar to the controls of the quad cannon he used on Vita. That day still haunted him, but right now wasn't a time to regret the past. He keyed in the command code to start the Ore Hauler's flight path and opened the hangar door, releasing his magnetic anchors so _Star_ fell right out into atmosphere.

Nex and Xio were thrown around the ship's corridor, as the Ore Hauler rocketed into combat. The turbolasers rhythmic firing was unsettling as return shots pinged against the hull. "Xio! Get to the laser turret! I'll pilot the ship!" Nex shouted over the noise, clinging to a safety cord that had come loose from its compartment. Xio nodded and ran off, stumbling as the ship took a sharp turn and shivered with several more shots across its… port, Nex determined. The cockpit was empty and deathly silent, cut off from the noise of the battle. Nex stepped up to the control panel and heard soft music playing. He cocked his eyebrow and turned off the slave circuits, then the music. The emergency closet popped open and an angry buzzing, warbling noise blurted out at him. Nex lost his balance and fell into the control panel, sending the ship into a nose-dive. The irritated, electrical voice warbled some more and the ship evened out, slave circuits coming back online to follow the flight path. Nex stared blankly at the dark emergency closet and crept closer. Peering inside, angry red eyes met him, and a thin, metal pole reached out and pushed him out, closing the emergency closet's door. Nex sat on the ground, gawking at the closed emergency closet. A message scrolled across the canopy. " 'I suggest a new strategy. I do the flying.' " Nex read aloud, staring in disbelief. "Now the droids are mocking me." Nex grumbled, sitting in the pilot's chair and watching the battle. The music turned back on and began playing the soft Coruscanti music that next often heard in the offices of Senators. "Droids." Nex rubbed his temples and strapped himself in.

Several droid-controlled Vipers were attacking _Sundant Down_, while a larger ship, twice as big as _Sundant_, hung back and watched over the battle. _Star_ tore through the Vipers with ease, using her front pivoting cannons to turn them into molten slag. Tem was scanning the frequency, trying to get through the jamming to _anyone_ on the bridge of _Sundant_. "…I repeat, this is Admiral Wenz of the ship _Sundant Down_ requesting back-up from Manaan Security Forces, can anyone here me?" Auwna's voice suddenly filled his cockpit. "This is _Shooting Star_, give me a status report, Auwna." Tem said, coming around for another pass on the half-witted droid Vipers. "I didn't think you were coming, _Shooting Star_." Tem snorted. "You think I would miss this party?" He said as he burned a hole through the thrusters of the Viper in front of him. "_Sundant_'s taken too much damage, she's barely holding, Tem." Auwna reported. "Where's the _Solar_ and _Firestorm_?" Tem asked. "Patrolling two systems over. I couldn't get them before we were jammed. They blew our long-range transmitter. We've been fighting them off for four days now. That one cruiser has just been sitting there. It hasn't hailed us or anything. Even the fighters are taking their time. It's the weirdest offensive I've seen." Auwna said. Tem narrowed his eyes. "That is weird… I'm coming aboard." Tem muttered, pulling his starfighter around to land in the docking bay. "Yes, sir. Lowering magnetic field." Auwna said, stiffly. The Ore Hauler juked and jinxed towards Tem, and his eyes widened. "Someone's flying my ship!"

Nex wrestled with the controls while the droid brain tried desperately to set the ship back on it's flight path, but Nex was stronger in the end, and the droid twittered something bitter at him. "Same to you." Nex shot back and sent the ship into the capital ship's hangar. Nex felt a tug from the Force in the back of his mind. Tem was trying to find out who was in his ship. Nex tried to throw up some barriers around himself and Xio, but he wasn't fast enough, and the tug quickly vanished before the walls could be formed. Tem now knew he was here. Hopefully that wouldn't interfere with his plans too much.

Tem bit back a curse and sent his ship racing towards the hangar. An explosion drew his eyes away from his mark and he watched as the ship heaved, thrusters down, towards Manaan. Tem readjusted his path, popped the canopy with shrill whine, and activated the magnetic anchors to catch as soon as they found their place in _Sundant_'s hangar. The ship suddenly stopped and the canopy flew open, sending Tem out. He used the Force to control his trajectory and landed safely on his feet. "I'm getting sick of flying." Tem grumbled and made a mad dash for the bridge.

"Admiral!" greeted Tem when he walked into the bridge. He saluted clumsily and looked for Auwna in the buzzing room. "Auwna." Tem waved and smiled at the Zabrak as she straightened and strolled towards him. "Tem. You came, I didn't think you would." Auwna said, as they embraced in a hug. "I promised." Tem looked around and ran his fingers through his hair. "Start evacuations, there are a bunch of evacuation shuttles in the hangar and my Ore Hauler can take some people too. I want you off the ship too." Tem said, going over to a terminal and reading the data over the deck officers' shoulder. "Before it submerges, preferably." Tem added. Auwna didn't move. "Captain goes down with the ship." Tem stopped, and turned to Auwna. "Are you disobeying orders?" Auwna smirked. "Think of it as you when you were a kid." Tem snorted. "Just make sure you get off this ship before it sinks." Auwna keyed in some commands and an evacuation alarm sounded. "_Sundant_'s fall."

Xio ran against the flow of people, trying to get to the bridge. That was where Tem was, as far as she could tell, but the swirling emotions in the Force were messing with her focus. Tem ran into her, and they stumbled away from each other awkwardly. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments until Nex caught up with them. Tem made a face and pointed a finger at Nex. "You," Tem said icily, "You're going to fly my Ore Hauler full of _Sundant_'s crew members." Tem's eyes fell on Xio again and he softened slightly, but his tone remained bitter. "You're going with him." Tem turned and jogged back towards the bridge. Nex grabbed Xio's hand and she let herself be pulled along to the hangar. "You help people aboard, I'll get the ship ready to launch." Nex told Xio when they got to the Ore Hauler's landing ramp. Xio nodded and watched him climbed up to the cockpit to initiate the start-up.

BD-C0R stood watching the ship fall to the water below. D4-T9I stood to his left, acting as general over the other nine Heavy Sentry War Droid, while Budecore commanded legions of droids. "Prepare the Hull Breachers, general." Budecore warbled harshly. His voice was deep and dark, but it also sounded contorted, as if he was emerged under water. _That will soon be true if Deefour does not hurry_, Budecore thought grumpily. Though he possessed the knowledge of any supercomputer, he still had a living, sentient brain encased in his skull. He thought at the speed of a computer, but the brain allowed him to be unpredictable. Master Cuun had said that was important in capturing Tem Marr. "Yes, sir." Deefour said and folded down to roll away. The Hull Breachers were droid transporters slightly bigger than escape pods. They attached themselves to the hulls of ships and used a highly corrosive acid to burn through the hull plates to deploy the droids inside. Budecore watched as evacuation shuttles launched from the capital ships hangar, but none of them contained Tem Marr. Budecore's powerful photoreceptor could pierce the hulls of light-armored ships, but it could not look into the capital ships interior to pin point the one human that he was hunting. "We are ready, sir." Deefour reported and Budecore strode away from the viewport.

Xio helped the last people they could before they were at maximum capacity. Nex shouted down to her and she palmed the keypad. The door rose slowly and Xio watched the sea of people on the outside. Tem wasn't among them, he was on the bridge, she could feel his presence there. He wouldn't abandon the ship, wouldn't he? He was too important to them, not that he was important to her, to leave him behind. Auwna would make sure he left with them. Unease remained and the landing ramp nearly sealed. "I'm sorry Nex." Xio murmured and rolled between the landing ramp and bulkhead and ran to the bridge.Nex used the Force to wish her luck, and Xio smiled. At least he was understanding.

"Let me fly the ship!" Nex shouted at the little droid head in the emergency closet. It twittered and locked the controls down tighter, encrypting the controls in long code that Nex couldn't make sense of. "Fine then!" Nex shouted at the little droid. "See what I care when Tem scraps your little brain and replaces you with a new computer." The controls unlocked and eased forward, the little droid making a sad, worried sound. Nex smirked and took the controls. "Wise choice, my little friend." The little droid blew an electronic raspberry and sealed it's closet.

Ruwn Kuad and Shten Lufd had joined Tem and Auwna in the bridge, clearing all the memory banks. "This is taking too much time." Tem snarled and pulled out his lightsaber, driving his emerald blade into the console. "Get to your ships! I'll finish off this stuff." Tem ordered. They all hesitated, and Tem made a large arc in the air with his lightsaber. "This thing hurts like Hell if you get burned. Does anyone want a demonstration?" Tem advanced forward threateningly, and Shten roared. Tem stopped and smiled. "I'm only kidding. Now go! I'm going to turn on the self-destruct." Tem said. "What?" Auwna shouted. "Do you want them to find out where the Facility is on Anteid? I sure as Hell don't." Tem snarled. Auwna ground her teeth and nodded. "We better hurry then." Tem nodded. "I'll follow you guys out in _Star_ as soon as I activate the self-destruct mechanism. I'll blow this puppy to Coruscant and back." Tem murmured to himself. Auwna and Ruwn left, while Shten piloted the ship to have the hangar pointing upwards, to keep water from rushing in on them. Xio ran in just as he began to activate the cores safety overrides. "What are you doing here?" He shouted irritably at her. "I came to help." Xio shot back. "You're suppose to be off this ship!" Tem snarled. "You can't do this alone." Xio stood her ground. Tem heaved a sigh and waved to Shten. "Let's go."

They ran down the corridor, holding guard-railings along the side of the corridors to keep from being thrown around the ship as it hit water and began to sink. There was an odd heavy pounding sound that didn't seem to match the sound of the waves washing up against the ship's bulkhead, and smoke began to come from the ceiling. "Hull Breachers!" Tem shouted and grabbed Xio's hand, pulling her along faster down the corridor. Corrosive acid dripped from the ceiling and droids dropped into the ship on both sides of them. "We're trapped." Tem said, noticing the access ladder. Lowering his voice, he stepped closer to Shten as the droids initialized their battle protocols and armed their weapons. "You and Xio head for the hangar, I'll keep them busy." Tem said. Shten whined softly and Tem patted the Wookiee reassuringly. "I'll meet you guys there, don't worry." Xio pulled out her lightsaber, but Shten restrained her. "No, Xio. You have to go." Tem said sternly and kicked open the access ladder door, spinning around, twirling his lightsaber off his belt into his hand and igniting the emerald blade and cutting through the nearest droid. Xio struggled against the mighty Wookiees arm, but he held strong. He looked down at her sadly, and with great reluctance, she let herself be guided down the access ladder to the hangar.

Budecore rounded the corner where they had Tem Marr trapped. He was very anxious to have already captured his prey, and began to wonder why Master Cuun had been so worried to begin with. He didn't seem that much of a threat to Budecore. With a sharp inhale, he saw the ball of energy that all the droids were shooting at. It seemed a useless gesture, as every shot was ricocheted back at them or into the ceiling. "Cease fire!" Budecore ordered loudly. All the blasters went silent, and the ball of energy faded as Tem ceased his own movements. He was panting, and excreting a large amount of sweat. His thrumming lightsaber was the only sound, along with his heavy breathing until Budecore stalked forward. "Marr." Was all he could think of saying. He turned sharply, his robes swirling around with him like a mist, and he raised his hand. "Set lasers for stun, I want him alive. Fire when ready." Budecore said, lowering his arm. As soon as the order was issued, two sentinel droids were thrown into the nearest HWSD and Tem Marr had used his lightsaber to puncture a heating vent, releasing steam into the chamber, gaining a slight amount of cover. "Fire! Shoot him down!" Budecore shouted, fumbling for his own advanced blaster rifle through his robes. Budecore had formed a heat pattern of Tem Marr and now had him in his sights. He was going to try and escape down the access ladder. "You will not escape now, Marr." Budecore growled and pulled off one high powered shot, which sent Tem Marr down the access ladder shaft. Growling, Budecore stalked off, leaving the inferior droids to discover they were only firing upon themselves.

Waves from Manaan's ocean made the hangar floor slippery, which only added to the difficulty of trying to scale the slanted floor. Shten was climbing it with ease, using his retractable claws to get a better grip. Xio had less luck and could barely get a grip. Shten could be seen hooking a tow cable from the Iridonians' ship to his little _Cyoto_. "We have to wait for Tem!" Xio shouted. "We will!" Auwna shouted back from her ship. Shten made his way, hand-over-hand up the tow cable to the other ship while Xio continued to struggle against the rushing water and slippery deck plates. Firaxa shark fins hovered around the mouth of the hangar. Xio heart pounded in her ears and she frantically tried to claw her way to the Iridonians' ship. More water rushed in, and she found it hard to keep her grip. She could feel herself slipping closer to the large pool of water gathering below. Several Firaxa sharks were also beginning to fill the pool as they slid down the hangar floor into it. Xio frantically wanted to make it to the ship and be safe, but she couldn't keep her grip and she begun to slide down towards the open maw of a Firaxa shark.

Tem slammed against the access ladder and plunged headfirst into frigid water. Surfacing quickly, he gasped for air and choked on a scream. The water pressed against the burn on his stomach and chest, the result of the menacing droid's blaster rifle. He had tried to stop the blow with the Force but wasn't fast enough and was hit with the shot. His teeth chattered as the cold water froze him to his core. Something brushed by his foot and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. "What the Hell?" He stammered, eyes widening as he stared down at the circling Firaxa shark. "Oh, frag!" Tem shouted and scrambled for the ventilation shaft, but it was out of his reach. The Firaxa shark beneath him had become very interested in him and was surging towards him. The ship heaved and the water sloshed around in the access shaft, sent Tem crashing through into the ventilation shaft and he was pinned against a fan. The Firaxa shark had followed him, though, and he was no cornered. It's eager jaw threatened to clamp down on his leg, but the water rushed back into the access shaft, pulling the Firaxa shark with it. It bit into the sole of his boot, and Tem clung desperately to the fan. Using his other foot, Tem was able to kick the Firaxa shark off and it slid back into the access shaft. "Ha!" Tem shouted scornfully as the Firaxa vanished to the other side. "Now," Tem thought aloud, "where am I suppose to go?" He tried to find some indicators or sector numbers, but they didn't seem to be here. Letting go of the fan, he fell hard against the ground and picked himself up. "Might as well start walking." He grumbled to himself and chose a path to follow.

Huge furry arms wrapped around Xio's body, and she jerked to a stop. Pain shot through her spine, but she was more than willing to go through that pain then be the meal of that Firaxa shark below. She looked up to see Shten, using his legs to hold the tow cable, hugging her to his body and climbing back up to Auwna's ship, which was now humming as the engines warmed up. Shten whuffled and whined and Xio had to climb up the cable herself. They slowly made their way up, as the water raced in now. The pool below was filling faster, and more Firaxa sharks were joining the others already in it. Shten climbed onto the landing ramp and pulled himself into the ship. Xio was almost there when another wave filled the hangar and she lost her grip. She slid down the tow cable, it's rugged edges ripping through the skin on her palms and she slammed into Tem's ship. Climb into his ship!" Auwna shouted at her. Xio did as she was told. "Now what?" She shouted to Auwna, who was watching from the landing ramp of the other ship. "Strap in and seal the cockpit! We're leaving!" Xio's eyes widened. "What? No! We have to wait for Tem!" Auwna shook her head. "We can't! We'll come back for him with a sub once we get to Manaan!" Xio grimaced, then nodded. "Alright!" She strapped in and sealed the cockpit. The other ship launched out of the hangar bay, pulling the little _Cyoto_ with it, and Xio turned to watch as _Sundant_ sank into Manaan's ocean. "The damage doesn't look as bad from out here." Ruwn commented over the comm. Xio watched the water spray up out of the hangar as waves knocked against the ship, until finally, it had sunk into the darkness.

Water rushed in from all around Tem, and he was launched through the ventilation system, until he was spat out into a larger room, it looked like the bridge. Fumbling for his rebreather, he shoved it into his mouth and he slowly floated downwards against a console. There was no where to go. The bridge was completely sealed due to the emergency systems and now he was stuck in here. His rebreather wouldn't last forever. The ventilation shaft wasn't a good idea now, because of the Firaxa sharks, but there had to be another way out of the bridge. Random objects floated around the chamber, when Tem spotted a plasma torch slowly spinning towards him. _Thank the Force_, Tem thought and swam towards it. He wondered if it would still work underwater, but it refused to stay lit. It was strong enough to pierce through the transparisteel viewport, but was useless to him if it couldn't stay lit. What if he used the Force to create an air pocket around the tip of the plasma torch and then cut through the viewport? It could work, and he certainly had the skill to perform it, but would it work? _Only one way to find out_, Tem thought gravely, noticing sparks flying from the blast doors as droids on the other side tried to pry it open. Tem was really beginning to hate droids.

Budecore waited patiently for the HWSDs to get the blast doors open. They had come to the bridge in hopes of finding out the location of any Valcun bases, and he had stumbled upon Tem Marr's heat pattern on the opposite side. His anxiety was growing again as the droids worked, but his mind continued to circulate the thought of what would become of him after he completed this mission. He was a droid of considerable value. Could he be given a memory wipe and be sold off? No, his living brain could remind him of the past. He walked on brittle ice, and he never even realized it. His life was now considerably important to him, then it had been hours ago.

Tem had finally made a hole big enough to squeeze through, just as the droids had cracked part of the blast door and the droid that shot him peered in. The eerie blue photoreceptor was locked on him, and Tem smirked around his rebreather at it. Using a console, he sprung through the hole and into open waters. He knew he didn't have much time before the engines went into critical state and exploded. He swam as hard and as fast as he could until he figured he was out of the blast range, and far from the curious Firaxa sharks that had gathered around _Sundant_. Tem floated to the sea floor and looked at the giant cruiser. _I'm going to miss that ship_; Tem thought gravely and started swimming for Ahto City.

Budecore shouted at the highest volume his voice modulator would allow. Decapitating the two HWSDs that were working on the door, he squeeze between the blast doors and slammed his body into the transparisteel viewport, reaching his hand through the hole to try and reach Tem, but he was too late. Budecore stared at the little swimming figure and slammed his hand against the transparisteel. He couldn't break it if he tried, so he went back to his secondary mission of search-and-destroy. Tem Marr wouldn't be leaving Manaan by swimming, he reminded himself. He stalked away from the viewport and noticed an active terminal, it looked as if it had some planetary data on it, and Budecore quickly scanned it for a name. It only contained engine statistics and didn't seem all that important to him, but his computer mind had red-tagged one of the columns that had begun to blink red. He looked it over and noted the engines were going critical. Well, if the engines were going critical, then they would explode, destroying the entire ship. It made sense. Budecore's photoreceptor glowed bright blue, and he ran for the nearest radiation locker. The explosion was enough to destroy him, despite his cortosis-weave exoskeleton, but that couldn't protect his servomotors and photoreceptor. He transmitted an emergency signal to the other HWSDs in the ship, to hopefully get them free of the blast, but there was little hope. In fact, he didn't believe this radiation locker that he had crammed himself in to be entirely suitable for his safety, but he had no other choice. The explosion came, and Budecore's systems shut down, leaving fate to decide what would happen to him.

Several gasps broke out on the comm. Auwna was able to suppress hers as they geyser of water launched from where _Sundant_ had sunk. The engines had finally reached critical state and had overloaded, destroying the entire ship. She couldn't, wouldn't, believe it. Tem could not have survived that. Shten whined loudly, then whuffled silently; looking between the two Zabraks for comfort in the fact that Tem could still be alive. "Tem's not dead. We have to hurry to Ahto City and get a sub to him. He can't fight off Firaxas forever." Xio's voice dully crackled over the comm. "Are you sure?" Auwna asked, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm positive, but we have to hurry." Xio replied. It seemed as if she didn't care at all. Maybe it was a Jedi thing. "Alright. Plot a course to Ahto City, Shten."

Tem swam and stunned Firaxa sharks with the Force. He never realized how far Ahto City was from _Sundant_ when it had fallen. Now he was exhausted, wasting what little energy he could fending off Firaxa sharks. On top of that, his rebreather was running low on oxygen. If he could have spared the breath, he would have cursed until his face was blue. _My face'll be blue soon enough_, Tem mused. Ahto City was still far in the distance, and it seemed hopeless. Tem kept swimming; he would accomplish nothing from floating there, losing oxygen. He stopped for another break, his arms and legs sore from the constant demand on them. The Firaxa shark had stopped following him for now, but that wouldn't last. He wasn't going to make it. He growled and kicked a rock. Vibration shot up his leg and dull thrumming sound echoed in the water. Tem looked more closely at the rock and noticed it was part of a capital ship. About the same size as _Sundant_ it was an old Republic capital ship. It was in great shape; no holes in its rectangular body and all four cylindrical thrusters were still in place. It was like a beautiful masterpiece, covered in sea urchin and coral, but that could be easily cleaned off. He could use a new ship, seeing as _Sundant_ was now wreckage. Maybe he could use the Force to lift it and carry it to Ahto City. That idea quickly deflated when he realized he couldn't possibly carry an entire ship and make it to Ahto City. Even if he could, the Firaxa would be all over him in no time. Then again, he really could use this ship. The pros outweighed the cons in Tem's head and he stretched his arms out towards the cruiser, electricity sparking around him, yet not harming him as he called upon the Force to lift it.

"What the hell?" Someone shouted over the comm. Xio leaned forward and looked into the water. A dark shadow slowly rose from it, as big as the _Sundant Down_, but a completely different shape. Xio could feel the Force, and it was like a magnet, drawing on all the life around it to perform its duty. It was Tem, but what was he doing? A coral covered Republic cruiser broke the surface, its red and white coloring dull and faded after years of being idle underwater, but now it hovered over the sea, held up only by the guided effort of the Force from a young man. Xio added her strength to the rising ship, feeling the pressure of the weight of the massive ship, and could bare it. Instead, she searched through the ships interior and started the engines, gunning the repulsors and felt Tem's presence slowly fade as the ship settled dozens of meters above the ocean. She looked into the depths, and hoped Tem was all right.

Tem floated lifelessly in the water, his rebreather slowly fell from his lips and sank to the sea floor. Firaxa sharks began to swim towards him, but he didn't notice. He was far from there. It was dark and cold, and he dripped with water. His body ached and the pain was excruciating. His first thought was that he was dead, but that was hardly the case. "You have a way of cheating death, my young friend." A voice whispered from the distance. "Only when I try." Tem murmured, but his voice echoed more strongly and livelier. "Perhaps I have underestimated you then." The voice whispered soothingly. "We can't have that, now can we?" Tem murmured again. "No, we can't. Go back to the rest of yourself, you'll be needed there" Tem jolted awake, inhaling sharply, only to suck in a mouthful of water. He choked and gagged as the water slowly suffocated him and he slowly lost consciousness. He never knew about the Selkath sub that had picked him up.

They had taken Tem to a local cantina, in hopes that the liquor would loosen him up enough so he would talk again. Ever since he had woken up from his treatment at the MedCenter, he hadn't uttered a word. His eyes were wild, unfocused and glazed over. Auwna brought them all drinks and smirked at Tem. "At least you don't have to worry about covering this tab." Auwna joked. Ruwn shook his head at Tem disappointedly. "I think he finally snapped." He suggested drearily. "I don't know how he does it." Looking at his tumbler and taking a quick swig from it. "Thanks, sweetheart." Shten whuffled and roared, drawing glances from the other recipients in the cantina. Ruwn visibly shivered once the Selkath turned away from them. "Those fish give me the creeps." He murmured softly. "Ruwn." Auwna scolded him. "What?" Ruwn said defensively. Auwna shook her head at him and took a long gulp from her tumbler. Xio, Nex, and the Selkath who had rescued Tem, Siwei Wodya, came into the cantina and joined them at their table. "How is he doing?" Xio asked calmly, her eyes briefly looking at Tem, then at the table. "Fine, but he hasn't said anything or moved from his place." Xio nodded and took a seat. Nex and Siwei did like wise. Selkath were an amphibian species, capable of living in or out of water. They were covered in slimy fish scales, wearing a special suit to tend to their delicate skin, and boasted many different shades of blue and gray, to match their underwater habitats. Their faces were long and they had sharp little teeth. Flaps of fleshy fish scales hung at either side of their muzzle and were often subjected to be stroked, like a human would stroke a beard, or as Tem would say 'Try to figure out what the Hell they were going to do'. "He could be in shock." Nex offered. "He might have foreseen a death, as well. His mind is swirling with dark thoughts." Nex added. "He's never gone into shock like this before over someone's death." Auwna and Xio both said simultaneously. They eyed each other quickly, then Auwna spoke. "His pal, some Ryn named Gural, a demo expert, he died on Quitun and he didn't even shown any sign of being upset. He was the same leader he's always been." Auwna flicked her gaze to Xio. Xio nodded. "That's what happened with Quwka. He just went on, but you could tell he was heartbroken. Wait… Gural's dead?" Xio said, looking at the Zabrak suddenly. "What happened?" Auwna shrugged. "Tem never said, he just said Gural made sure the mission was a success. I assumed he had activated the detonators, but didn't give himself a chance to escape." Xio looked down at the table again. "I see." Tem stirred and everyone turned to face him. He leaned back, grabbed the tumbler in front of him and took a long swallow of the shimmering liquor. "Multabu." He murmured. His eyes were still clouded over and he looked terribly groggy, as if he were already drunk. "Tem… Multabu died nearly three years ago. We're on Manaan now." Auwna said. Siwei looked between the humans, Wookiee and Zabraks, utterly confused. "He is suffering from amnesia?" The Selkath asked, and Ruwn shook his head. "He can't be. Just probably a memory lapse. He'll remember everything in a few minutes." Tem rubbed his face and looked at Auwna. "Manaan? When did we get stationed here?" Tem looked around the table, stopping on Siwei. "Who's the fish?" Tem asked. "Tem!" Auwna shouted into his ear and he jumped a few feet into the air. "Ow! Auwna! What? I'm right here, you don't have to shout." Tem grumbled. "_Sundant_'s at the bottom of Manaan's sea." She purred. "What?" Tem jumped from his seat again, shouting. "It was destroyed by a Cardan ship, it fell, sank, and you blew it up." Tem tried to remember what had happened and Auwna smiled to herself. "I overheated the engines, sent them into critical… That's right." Tem said slowly and sat back down. "A Selkath!" He shouted suddenly, and everyone looked at him. He was smiling stupidly and pointing at the Selkath. "Tem." Auwna whispered. "Put your arm down." Tem did as he was told and lowered his arm. "What's your name?" Tem asked the Selkath. "It is Siwei." He said proudly. "You speak basic? That's a first." Tem muttered then started speaking in harsh Selkath. Auwna didn't understand Selkath, and was soon lost as the conversation picked up. "How does he know so many languages?" Auwna asked. "I was hoping you could tell me." Xio said. "He understands plenty of languages, and speaks a good part of them." Ruwn stated the obvious. "Ruwn, you're not helping, surprisingly." Auwna said. "He must've learned it from his parent's. What do they do?" Nex asked. Auwna, Ruwn and Xio all signaled him to keep quiet, but it was too late. Tem turned and faced Nex, threatening to go at him over the table. Shten restrained him, and Tem pointed an accusing finger at Nex. ""Don't talk about my parents." Tem snarled, and slowly eased back onto his seat. "We shouldn't talk about his parents, period." Auwna whispered. "Just let him be, he's got enough to deal with anyway." Ruwn said. "Then why don't you tell us of your past, Auwna." Xio said. Auwna thought of her earlier years, and nodded slowly. "Alright." She said and took a deep breath. "I was born and raised on Iridonia until about the age of fifteen. By that time, I had gotten a job on a luxury liner, and went off to see the galaxy." Auwna smiled from memory. "Except, I never did see much of the galaxy. I was stuck in the kitchen most of the time. Everything was routine, then. Nothing happened out of the norm each day." _Oh, how I miss those bland times,_ Auwna mused. "It was near the end of the year that we were attacked by pirates and they took several of us onto their ship. They… did terrible things to us. I made them pay for every single second of it when I got a hold of one of their blasters. I slaughtered the whole crew myself. Most of them were asleep at the time, anyway." Auwna's gaze fell to her tumbler and she looked at the small amount of liquor that remained. Ruwn's arms wrapped around her, and she leaned against him. Nothing could heal the wounds she had on her heart, but it was nice of him to show he cared. Nex excused himself and left them to their talking, Auwna didn't watch him leave, and never took her eyes off her tumbler. "The survivors went their separate ways, and I ended up joining the Valcuns at the age of eighteen. I met Ruwn there, who was nineteen at the time, and we fell in love." Ruwn grinned. "She was the most beautiful Zabrak there." Auwna cocked her eyebrow at him and smiled. "I was the only other Zabrak there." Ruwn's grin broadened. "Like I said, most beautiful Zabrak there." Auwna rolled her eyes and jabbed him in the chest with her elbow, but she couldn't hide her amusement. "I guess I shouldn't ask about your childhood. I hear Jedi are pretty much snatched right from the womb." Auwna smirked. Xio shrugged and looked at her hands. "I was too young to remember anything, of how I was chosen, or how I got to Coruscant, but I've spent my entire life training in the Temple, and it is the only home I know." Xio murmured, then looked at where Tem was sitting. "Where's Tem?"

"Why did you want to see this ship?" Tem asked Siwei as the Selkath examined the ships hull. "I was curious." Siwei purred. "That's a lie and you know it, fish breath." Myta said, coming from behind a bunch of crates, blaster drawn. "Whoa, Myta, what are you doing?" Tem asked, on his way to stand between the two, but Siwei had pulled out a blaster as well. "I need that money, Myta. One hundred million credits for capturing a kid is not an opportunity to pass up." Siwei growled. "One hundred million?" Tem shouted. "I thought I was worth a little over ten thousand…" He smirked and reached for his lightsaber slowly. "Don't bother, Marr." Siwei growled and jabbed his blasters barrel hard into his back. "Budecore'll be through that door any minute with my credits, and I can't have you getting away." Siwei threatened. The door hissed open and the droid that was on _Sundant_. Budecore strode right up to Tem, completely ignoring Myta's blaster. "Good job." Budecore said simply. "I want my money." Siwei snarled. "Of course." Budecore said, motioning for a droid to bring a box full of credit chips. The Selkath took it greedily and started counting them. "Now, take him away." Budecore turned briskly and motioned for more droids to restrain him. "Do not struggle, Marr, and no harm will come to you." Myta's blaster finger twitched and Tem shook his head. "Alright, Budecore. Let's go." Tem extended his arms and watched the restraints lock around his wrists. "But my friends are to leave." Tem said. Budecore laughed. "No, they will be killed. All Valcuns are to be killed, that is my secondary mission." Tem looked at his restraints and nodded. "I understand." His lightsaber flew to his hand and he activated the emerald blade. It was very difficult to wield the blade with his two hands stuck together, but he would live. Myta's blaster went off, taking down droids all around them. Tem moved to deflect the bolts flying at her. "Tem!" Ruwn's voice floated over the shots. "Get back!" Xio shouted, as another lightsaber snapped to life. That eased Tem's workload a little, but Budecore was determined to take Tem, dead if he had to. Tem's eyes widened and he turned to face Myta. "Take my lightsaber and cut my restraints." Tem ordered her and she did as she was told, but Budecore was too fast. Tem turned and met the droid with a wide kick that knocked away his lightsaber. Tem was caught off guard; the droid was wielding a lightsaber! He quickly called his lightsaber to his hand, as Budecore grabbed his. Tem was ready this time. Their lightsabers clashed and Tem's strength faltered. His arms swung apart, leaving himself open to attack. Tem thought quickly, and called on the Force to pull himself back, but it was too unfamiliar a technique for Tem and he was pulled only a few inches away, not far enough from Budecore's lightsaber. It stung down across his right eye; burning his cheek and running a long burn mark down his arm. Electricity crackled around Tem as he leapt at the droid. He found foot holes along its body and scaled it, like he had the training droids at the Jedi Temple a few years prior. His lightsaber was a blur of motion, as he tried to pierce through the droids plating, but it was a useless effort. It laughed and knocked him off, but Tem landed on his feet and was ready for Budecore when he came at him. Tem locked blades with it again, but wasn't so easily taken. Budecore had more tricks Tem didn't know about. Like the spike that impaled him in his stomach. Tem staggered back, blood spouting from his mouth and the hole in his stomach. Budecore was merciless and plunged an elbow spike through Tem's shoulder. He fell to his knees, looking dully at his wounds and his blood soaked hands. He fell on his back and looked up at the ceiling. Budecore's foot came down on his head, and he fell into unconsciousness.

"I knew I had better reasons than racism for hating you!" Ruwn spat at Siwei. Auwna, Shten and Xio were now making their way to their ships. Tem was too far in to save, but Ruwn knew that Tem had a natural luck for getting into trouble and an unnatural luck of getting out of trouble. Ruwn had secured the back stabbing Selkath before he could escape. "Throw him in!" Auwna growled, opening the _Cyoto_'s cockpit. Shten unceremoniously snatched up and the Selkath and crammed him into the little ship, slamming the canopy down before the little fish had a chance to get out. "Fraggin' fish." Ruwn grumbled. "We've got company." Xio said, and spun her lightsaber around to meet the first few shots from the droids coming at them. "Get to your ships!" Xio shouted and cut through one droid. Ruwn hesitated, and waited for Auwna to tell him what to do. Shten was already on his way, respecting the Jedi's wishes. "Auwna?" Ruwn asked when she was silent. "Let's go." She said just loud enough to be heard. Nex flashed by, lightsaber flashing to life, meeting the droids head on, to fight by Xio's side. "There's two of them now, they should be fine." Ruwn pointed out. Auwna nodded and they ran towards their ship.

Myta watched as BD-C0R's foot came down on Tem, stopped suddenly, pulled away from his face and the droid stood at perfect attention, unaware. Myta didn't waste time wondering and picked up Tem. Manaan Security Forces rushed in and sparked another battle that took all of the droids attention. Myta half-dragged Tem through the battle, avoiding wild blaster shots, and ducking into the massive Republic cruiser. If Myta remembered anything about being a pirate, it was how to hijack Republic ships.

Xio deflected several more shots before turning tail and running. There were too many and her strength was faltering. "Nex! Come on!" She shouted at the other Jedi, heading for the Ore Hauler, which was strangely running. Nex had come from that direction, had he suspected something? A blaster bolt that exploded into a wall brought Xio's mind back to the situation at hand. Her auburn lightsaber was still activated, so she was able to deflect the odd blaster bolt, but as the two Jedi ran, their chances of making it aboard became slimmer and slimmer. Xio turned sharply and spun her lightsaber on the heel of her hand, using the Force to keep it in her palm and spinning quickly. "Go!" She shouted at Nex, who hesitated and did was he was told. There was no way the blaster bolts could penetrate through her shield, but, she couldn't see through it, and she was wearing herself out, demanding so much from the Force. If she didn't see a droid scuttle up beside her, she would be dead. Heavy cannons fired from behind her, and Xio turned her head. Nex had piloted the Ore Hauler around to fire upon the droids so she could escape. Gripping her lightsaber, she dashed towards the still lowered loading ramp.

Myta worked feverishly to bring the old medical droids functional. Tem wouldn't survive with such a large wound in his stomach and shoulder. The two medical droids hummed to life and started working on Tem, while Myta went to the bridge to get this bucket of bolts airborne and out of here. The ships systems were over thirty years old, but it was still used commonly across the galaxy, which Myta was thankful for. As she turned on different systems, the ship hummed with more and more activity. Tem stumbled in, his arm in a sling, and his stomach wrapped in bandage to protect the newly stitched wound. He was only wearing the blood and sweat stained trousers he had fought in, random cuts in the fabric where blaster bolt and lightsaber blade came too close for comfort. Myta couldn't help but stare. Tem eased himself into a chair, before looking up at her and giving her a quizzical look. She quickly turned back to the controls, blushing, and rose the ship off the ground and out of the hangar. Tem busied himself with the comm channels, shaking his head sadly as cries of agony echoed in the silent bridge. "This is Republic Cruiser, Captain Tem Marr speaking. Manaan Security, do you copy? I repeat, this is Captain Tem Marr of the Republic Cruiser. Requesting confirmation of transmission." Tem said suddenly, after a few moments of silence, making Myta jump from her seat. He smiled weakly at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He said apologetically. He was sincere, obviously, but his eyes spoke of a great pain. Myta couldn't look away from them as she sat back down. "Republic Cruiser, this is Manaan Security, transmitting report, do you copy?" A Selkath voice filled the bridge. "Captain Marr here, roger that. Standing by." Tem said. He spoke as if nothing was wrong, complete and utter calm. Tem grimaced as the report came in. "Manaan Security, Captain Marr, again. I can solve this little problem. Just give me ten minutes to get free of the planets gravity-well. I want you to transmit the coordinates I'm sending now, to…" Tem hesitated for a moment. Myta watched him as his eyes narrowed. "… Berth four-twenty-alpha. The captain of that ship will know what to do with them." Tem reported. "As you wish, sir." The Manaan Security officer replied and the comm went dead. He leaned back, hissed and rubbed his face. "Are you alright?" Myta asked, worried he might fall unconscious again. _And I could really use him conscious right now_, Myta thought to herself. "That's sweet, but I'm fine and you're doing a fine job of piloting." Tem said, not looking at her. She blushed again and remembered how the Jedi could read one's thoughts and feelings underneath. "Stay out of my mind." She said sharply, and returned her attention to flying the ship through the battle outside, her face red, embarrassed. Tem leaned forward again and spoke into the comm. "All ships, this is Captain Marr, of the Republic Cruiser. I'm offering safe passage out of Manaan." He said, slightly amused. "All ships are welcome to board. The offer is only good for less than ten minutes. The cruiser will provide covering fire for all inbound ships." Tem said, then leaned back again. "You could go lay down. You still need to recover from the surgery." Myta offered. Tem waved it off with his hand. "I'm good. Auwna and the others will be boarded, I want to welcome them on." Myta shook her head. "You're going to kill yourself, and I'm afraid I won't be around to see it." Tem just smirked, then rose and left the bridge, leaving the flying to Myta. "Men."

Tem was waiting for them in the hangar when Auwna, Ruwn, Shten, Xio and Nex all disembarked from their ships. "You got this bucket of bolts to fly?" Ruwn proclaimed across the hangar as Tem walked over to them. "You're just jealous that this beautiful thing is mine." Tem shot back, grinning. Ruwn made a gesture and shook his head. "Of _course_, I am _so _jealous of a relic starship." Tem started laughing and shook his head. The Republic Cruiser alone was fending off the fighters, and more and more ships filled the docking bay. "Want to help me sort out this mess I've started?" Tem asked stupidly. Auwna and Ruwn saluted and went off to start putting people in cabins, while Shten was occupied in a conversation with several Wookiees and a few Pho Ph'eahians. Tem decided it was best to stay away from them, watching them all gesture broadly and speak in loud tones. Xio and Nex had run off to the bridge to assist in piloting the massive cruiser in any way they could, and Tem found himself unoccupied. The gauzy bandages around his shoulder and stomach itched and he scratched irritably at them. He let his feet guide him, wandering aimlessly as past memories floated back to him. "Don't scratch!" His mother's voice scolded him in his mind. Tem smiled and forced himself to stop scratching. He found himself in an empty corridor, alone with his thoughts. "See, mom? I've got more self-control than I had back then." He said aloud, picturing his mom's soft and caring face smiling at him. "I'm so proud of my big, strong boy." She had said when he was much younger. Tem's eyes filled with tears and he laughed softly. "Would you still be proud now, mom?" He said, trying to keep from all out sobbing. "He's going to be able to wrestle Zentr's in a few years." His father would say. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, and he shook his head, smiling. "He'll do no such thing! First off, he's not as crazy as you are. Second of all, the second I catch either of you doing that, you'll both begin to wonder what it was like to be able to leave the house!" She would argue. "Oh, mom." Tem said, his laughter breaking. "Don't you know I've become more like dad than anyone?" _More than you know, my son_, her familiar voice seemed to whisper in his ear, _more than you know._

Auwna, Ruwn, Xio and Nex all had to bunk in the admiral's chambers. Ruwn had snatched away the case full of credits from Siwei, and he had mysteriously vanished, no one had seen the fish since they arrived aboard the Republic Cruiser. The other cabins had been filled with the people they had saved from Manaan. The chamber was big enough, but a bunk was missing. Tem wasn't going to be sharing the room with them. Ruwn and Auwna watched the starlines as the cruiser traveled through hyperspace. "Tem's going to kill himself one of these days." Auwna said, shaking her head. Nex and Xio were out of earshot, but Auwna remained suspicious of the two Jedi. "What do you want me to do about it?" Ruwn whined, adopting a dreary whimpering face. Auwna elbowed him in the ribs. He snorted and rubbed his ribs. "Ow." Auwna cocked an eyebrow at him. "You asked for it." She said, looking at the stars again. "I don't remember saying 'I want you to elbow me in the ribs.'" Ruwn complained. Auwna elbowed him again and he glared at her. "Oh, you're clever." He said and put an arm around her waist. "Why do you worry about Tem? He can take care of himself." Ruwn ranted. "He's even saved us, while looking out for himself, like that time in the Gundark's nest. Why the hell did he get the ears from that one Gundark anyway? I mean, I know it's ironically funny, but he ended up cracking three of his ribs an- Hey! Ow!" Ruwn broke off as Auwna jabbed him in the ribs again. "You think too much, you know that?" Auwna smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. Ruwn opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and met her lips. Ruwn was right anyway; Tem could take care of himself. Auwna had no idea why she was suddenly so worried.

Tem stared lazily at the stars as the ship repositioned itself. He wasn't taking any chances that Budecore somehow managed to follow him, despite the misdirection in coordinates he had sent to his ship, and the complicated path through space they had taken en route to Luath. Many of the people who had boarded at Manaan would use the stops in hyperspace to disembark and leave for whatever path their lives took them on. They were no longer Tem's concern once they went into hyperspace. _I wonder how all the Canta are doing_, he thought absently as the ship groaned and waited for the hyperspace routes to be confirmed by the navicomputer. The console in front of him beeped, and Tem leaned forward. Its monitor flashed with a priority alert and Tem leaned back. There had been five priority alerts in the past hour, and none of them were seriously dangerous. "Examine." Tem ordered the computer, yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes. A live feed of the area replaced the priority alert screen and indicators blinked on. "Pressure rising at alarming rate. Advised to seal off area. Confirm?" The computer said cheerfully at him. "Isolate problem area." Tem said, rising from his seat, reaching for his weapons belt and a toolbox. Something cross Tem's mind and he looked at the console again. "Bring up footage of the area twenty minutes before and after the incident." Tem ordered and then left the bridge. He could examine the footage when he got back.

Shten and a Pho Ph'eahian had gotten to the problem area in inner bulkhead. Shten roared in frustration as he failed to find the source of the problem. His head felt as if a trash compactor was crushing it. "Calm down!" Rova, the Pho Ph'eahian scolded him. Her four arms worked quickly, checking connectors, pressure points in the bulkhead, stabilizers and other mechanical pieces making the ship run. "We'll fix it, you'll see." She said calmly and focused back on her work. Pounding footsteps echoed towards them and Shten looked up. Tem slid to a stop just before the access bridge and started scaling the support beams higher up from the two beings already working there. "What's wrong?" He asked, starting to look for a problem. "Don't know." Rova answered and checked some cables she was holding. Shten found some severed stabilizer cables and looked at them suspiciously. They were burned through cleanly, but not even a plasma torch could do that. There was nothing Shten could think of that could get anything so cleanly. Tem's lightsaber gleamed from the red warning lights blinking and Shten gawked. He roared and growled and Tem looked down at him. "What?" The young human said, bewildered. Shten repeated his observation and showed the little Jedi. "That's… impossible." He said wordlessly. "Who would severe the stabilizers? This pressure leak could kill us all! I can't imagine Xio or Nex doing anything like this." Tem said, his eyes searched for an answer, but Shten could tell by the look on his face that no answer was coming. Rova had started wrapping the damaged stabilizer cables together with silver space tape. "Can you two handle it from here?" Tem asked, already climbing down from the support beams, strapping his tool kit back onto his belt. "Sure thing, Captain." Rova said when Shten failed to respond. Tem looked at Shten briefly and nodded. "Thanks guys." Then the little human vanished back into the ship. The rest of the repairs took only a few moments, though; the silver space tape was only to hold them off until they reached Luath. "A job well done, Shten." Rova said cheerfully. "Got any liquor we can drink to forget about this little ordeal where our heads nearly exploded?" She asked, looking up at the towering Wookiee. They walked side by side in silence for a moment, an odd pair from a first glance. Shten whuffled and whined and Rova grinned. "Floral extract? Sounds good. Lead the way, sir."

Tem went back to the bridge to find someone there. He reflexively grabbed his lightsaber from his belt and was ready to thumb it on when he realized it was only Nex. "Oh," Tem said, annoyed with the fact that he was alone with the older man, clipping his lightsaber to his belt. "It's you." He found a chair and fell into it, bringing up the security footage that he had requested before he left. "You must always be open to the Force, if you expect it to serve you." Nex said. Tem rolled his eyes and looked up. "Listen I'm not looking for a lecture, I'm trying to fi-… Wait… you said 'serve me'. The Order taught us that it aids us, and we can manipulate it, but it does not serve us." Tem said, eyes narrowing dangerously. Maybe his lightsaber would be back in his palm again. _Let's see how the conversation plays out_, Tem thought to himself. "You lead brilliantly over people, and I can feel the Force itself buckle under your power. It was meant to serve you." Nex explained, fidgeting with the comm's volume adjustors. "No, that's not true." Tem said. "I don't know where you get you delusions, laser brain." He murmured and once again focused on his security footage. "I can't manipulate the Force as you do. Make it do things that are beyond our teachings. I don't know why it so willingly follows your command. But you are capable of it. You should learn from both sides of the Force, Tem. You would surely get on the Jedi Council with such a vast knowledge and power over the Force." Nex preached. "Listen," Tem's tone came across harshly. "I'm not in this to get onto the Jedi Council, or impress old beings who are mastering some mysterious life energy. I'm doing this for me and no one else." He growled. The other Jedi stepped rose and stepped towards him. "As I study to become a historian, I have seen many things in the Sith teachings that could be used for good with your abilities. Please reconsider." Nex almost begged. He rose to his feet and pointed angrily at the bridge door, opening it with the Force. "Go." Tem snarled darkly and he soon nodded and left, leaving Tem alone in the bridge again.

Myta was the first one up and in the bridge. Tem was half-asleep over a console when she got there and he quickly jerked awake when she was close enough. "Oh, good morning." He said groggily. "Morning." Myta said softly, smiling sweetly. Tem gestured to a seat next to his and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Myta apologized quickly, taking the seat next to him. He waved his hand and rubbed his face. "I should've been keeping an eye on the ship anyway." Tem said around a yawn. Myta laughed silently as he started to drift off into sleep again. "Glad I have some real company." Tem murmured wearily. "Not like that… _Nex_." He said disgustedly, waving his hands about to emphasize his point. Myta just watched as he struggled to fight off sleep and stay alert for longer than three minutes. "So, what's Luath like?" Myta asked, fidgeting with the console in front of her. "Well, I've only been there once. I'm not sure what it's like now, I've been too busy to go back." Tem explained. "But when we first settled the planet, it was lush, tranquil and covered in jungle. Nice warm temperatures, but not so hot it was uncomfortable. It was nice." He said dreamily, as if he were there. "I wonder how my friends are doing." He murmured to himself. His eyes flashed angrily at the display and he stood out. "There!" He shouted suddenly, scaring Myta. "What?" She asked, looking at the display. He jabbed his finger accusingly at a blurred figure on the screen. "Someone sabotaged the ship last night." Tem said, still pointing at the figure. "But the camera didn't see who it is." He leaned forward and squinted at the figure. "Can you find out anything that happened between the time of sabotage and the time it was repaired. I have some suspicions I want to lay to rest." Tem hissed slightly. "Absolutely." Myta said, already hacking into the system commands from last night. "Five hundred, forty-two thousand, two hundred and eleven." Myta reported. "Take away all system checks." Tem ordered. They worked together, slowly minimizing the amount of system commands until they were left with only one hundred and twenty seven. "Now," Tem shrugged, rubbing his face. "We start from the beginning."

"What do you mean the power couplings are negatively charged? Standard starfighters are positively charged!" Auwna groaned at the astromech working with her. She rubbed her horns and shook her head. _Ancient technology_, she thought bitterly to herself. Ruwn's arms slid around waist and she released herself from Ruwn's embrace. "Not now, I'm getting pissed off at ancient starfighter technology." She said, still trying to figure out how this stupid thing worked. "You mean those negatively charged power couplings?" He started laughing. "Those power weapons." He said and leaned into the ship to raise a hatch behind several piles of wiring. "There's your positively charged couplings. If you check the connections, they both lead to different places. One the ion engines and ship systems, the other to just weaponry. It adds a boost to the power of these pups." Ruwn explain, still snickering. "I can't wait to fly one of these things. You think Tem will let us?" She said, stroking the hull of the ship lovingly. "I'm hurt." Ruwn said, adopting a pained expression. "You've never touching me like that." He grinned and Auwna moved closer to him. "I know how I could make that up to you." She said and whispered in his ear. "Oh, well, wow, that would _definitely_ make up for it. When can you get started?" He grinned impishly and Auwna slapped his chest. "Not until we land on Luath. It's too crowded on this ship. I don't want to be interrupted." Auwna smirked and turned back to her work. "Shouldn't you be working?" She asked, realizing that Ruwn was now loitering around her ship she was working on. "Oh, I am." He said, pointing to the ship he had been working on. Auwna looked over and saw the astromech playing a hologram of him working. Auwna laughed and looked at Ruwn. "Have I told you I love you?" Ruwn smiled and nodded. "Yes, but I like hearing it, so you can say it again."

Xio wandered the hangar. Tem had told her to bring Nex to him on the bridge, but she couldn't find him anywhere. It wasn't until she went to the engine room that she found Nex speaking with Shten. "…I fear the airlock may be damaged, I thought perhaps you could take a look at it. It is rather dangerous left unrepaired and you have such a fine knowledge of machines." He was saying to the towering Wookiee. Shten whuffled softly and nodded reluctantly, looking suspiciously at the Jedi. "Sorry to interrupt, but Nex, Tem wants to see you on the bridge." Xio said cautiously, not wanting to upset anyone. Shten shrugged his large, hairy shoulders and turned back to his work on the engine. Nex bubbled with annoyance briefly, but it quickly vanished. He smiled and nodded and gestured with his hand. "Lead the way."

"Luath." Tem said breathlessly as the green orb filled the viewscreen in front of him. "It's beautiful." Myta murmured. Tem smiled slightly and nodded his head slowly. "What's that?" She asked, pointing to a saucer shape station orbiting Luath. It resembled an Ithorian Herdship. "That's the storage satellite that carried floral and non-sentient life from Canaltha to Luath." Tem replied informatively as the comm buzzed to life. "Republic Cruiser, this is Luath Station, please identify yourself, and transmit your ID signature and cargo information." Tem flicked on his comm mic and leaned forward. "This is Captain Tem Marr of Republic Cruiser, transmitti-" He started, but was cut off. "_The_ Tem Marr!" Luath Station's communicator nearly screamed. "An honor guard is on its way. Remain on your present course." The comm went silent, and Tem's mouth was hanging open, the words he was about to utter frozen in time from the interruption and the event that followed. The ships burst from Luath Control, which was the satellite station, and raced towards the ship. "Republic Cruiser, this is Lunar One, do you copy?" The signal came from the tri-winged ship in the center of the formation. It was similar to some avian creature, but Tem couldn't think of which one it resembled most. "Republic Cruiser? I repeat, do you copy?" Lunar One repeated, worry entering… his? No, the voice was more feminine; it must be a she. "This is Captain Tem Marr, Republic Cruiser reads you loud and clear, Lunar One." Tem said, regaining his voice, but he was still shaking from the initial shock. "What exactly did you _do_ to get _this_ kind of respect?" Myta asked, smiling playfully from her seat. Tem looked at her and furrowed his brow. There was something different about her, something he hadn't noticed. He smiled back and leaned back in his chair. "I have not the slightest idea." He said honestly. "Pardon the interruption, Republic Cruiser, but, are you truly Tem Marr, Captain?" Tem cocked his eyebrow and flicked on his mic again. "Yeah, I am. Is there something I can do for you, Lunar One?" He asked, curiously. "According to my father, you've done more than enough. It's an honor to be flying by your side, sir." Lunar One replied, pride entering her tone. "Who would your father be?" Tem asked, suddenly very confused as to how a human, or near-human, would remember him from Canaltha. "Tupag." Lunar One responded blandly. "You're a Canta!" Tem shouted, jumping out of his chair. "You have flawless Basic! That's amazing!" He paced away from mic, still ranting on. "Captain? I'm losing you? Can you still read me?" Lunar One asked frantically. Tem showed no sign of hearing, continuing his ranting. Myta slipped into his seat and took over the comm for him. "Captain Tem Marr is currently occupied at the moment. This is… um… Commander… Myta." She said stupidly. How was she suppose to know what rank a deck officer had? "All right, commander, continue your present course. Resuming comm silence."

The spaceport they landed in was full of people, gloriously decorated and music played from somewhere in its depths. Tem marched down the landing ramp, looking horrible with only a blood- and sweat-stained shirt, covered in bandages and reeking of a wet Ewok. Four Canta guards met him at the bottom of the landing ramp and he spoke Canalthian to them. "Salutations." Tem said, staring at the taunt face bodyguards. "You are free to speak with me, if you wish." He added when they refused to reply. "It is an honor to be risking our lives for you, warrior Tem of clan Marr." The tallest said. "Our lives are insignificant to yours, for all you have done for the Canta people. You are a God." The next one said. Tem shook his head. "No, no. I am not a God, or a great warrior. I am just a small human. You, Canta, are the noble, brave warriors. I could not do, what you so willingly do even with my supposed courage." Tem said. Roars of applause and cheers broke out as Governor Chupa strode towards him. On his left were, what appeared to be the three Canta pilots, and on his right, there was a human and a Twi'lek. A loose bodyguard formation circled them. The bodyguards by Tem stepped away from him and stood at attention. He just stood there, eyebrow cocked and gawking, at all this nonsense. He could have _walked_ to Chupa's office from here! _What is that oaf thinking?_ Tem thought to himself wearily. Chupa finally reached him and they hugged, to great pleasure of the crowds who cheered even harder. "It's been awhile, old friend." Tem said in Canalthian. "Much too long, my friend. You have companions aboard?" Chupa asked. "Yes, I do. Xio Mara, the one I first brought to Canaltha, Auwna Wenz and Ruwn Kuad, two Zabrak's from Iridonia, Shten Lufd, a Wookiee of Kashyyk, Myta, a Firreoron bounty hunter and several crew from various ships, including my own." He explained. Chupa listened and nodded. "So, this is the great Tem Marr? It's a pleasure to meet you." Tem turned and faced the human. "I'm as great and as famous as Multabu." The human looked puzzled for a moment. "Who?" He asked. "Exactly." Tem said, smiling proudly to himself. "I'm with Species Relations here on Luath. My name is Ador Dashad. This is my aide, Illist." Ador gestured to the Twi'lek behind him. "Hello." Tem said cheerfully to the Twi'lek, whose green complexion brightened red when he greeted her. "Tem Marr, it is an honor, sir." Lunar One, judging from the markings on her flightsuit, said. Tem saluted loosely and bowed. "Lunar One, I presume? I could use a real name." Tem said with a grin. "Valia, these are my wingmates Mounde and Detin." She introduced the two male pilots. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." Tem said and bowed deeply. Jedi customs were starting to rub off on him. "The honor is ours, Master Marr." Valia said and returned the bow. They all stepped back and made room for Chupa to come closer to Tem. "Am I going to get an explanation?" Tem asked. Chupa looked at him, quizzically. "An explanation to what?" He asked. "To why this is such a big deal?" Tem whispered, looking around once again at all the elaborate decorations and crowds of people cheering and waving to him. "You have comrades on your ship?" Chupa asked. "I want an explanation." Tem snarled slightly. "You will get one. Bring your friends to my town house, we will talk there." Chupa said dryly. Tem nodded reluctantly and Chupa grinned. He turned to face the crowds, raised his arms and proclaimed something in a hybrid of Canalthian and Basic, but Tem couldn't make it out. Without another word, Chupa left, followed by his bodyguards. The three pilots bowed and repeated their pleasure as of meeting a hero, the Species Relations workers bowed and left without a word, but the crowds remained, cheering. Auwna wouldn't let him live this down.

"The plants and animals easily adapted." Chupa said, as he poured himself a cup of strong smelling tea. They were now at his town house, now, listening to his recap on the brief history of Luath. "Canta tried once again at the life of a nomad, but many enjoyed the city too much. Both Canta and the mixed species of the Settlers learned much from each other." Chupa paused to take a sip from his tea. Aides, mostly near-humans, brought tray after tray of food to the long table that Chupa; himself, Auwna, Ruwn, Myta, Xio and Nex were sitting at, Shten had remained at the ship. Ruwn and Myta gave longing glances to the food, Xio and Nex were entangled in their own conversation, but Auwna and Tem remained interested solely on Chupa's speaking. "That's all well and good, but what about Tupag?" Tem insisted. The Canta sighed heavily, then grinned as Tem's stomach growled loudly. "Do not wait for me to tell you to eat. Please, go right ahead." Chupa said warmly. "Don't mind if I do." Ruwn and Myta said simultaneously, already half leaning over the trays of food deciding what to try. Xio and Nex turned from their conversation and bowed their heads to the Canta. "Thank you very much, Governor." Nex said, and began a new conversation on foods of Luath with Xio. Auwna and Tem remained stiff-nosed and remained focused on Chupa. He looked between Auwna and Tem and sighed slightly. "I wished not to be the bringer of bad news, but Tupag has been missing for several months, now. He is presumed dead." Chupa lowered his head. Tem leaned back into his chair. "Dead?" He echoed. Auwna looked at him apologetically and Tem blinked back tears. "I'm afraid so." Chupa said sadly. Tem's eyes narrowed. "I need to house one hundred beings. Can you accommodate that, Governor?" He asked, his tone not changing. "I believe I can, yes."

There was an abandoned village less than an hour away from the main city. Speeders and beasts of burden were bringing in all the necessary equipment they needed while in the village for their short time. Tem had reluctantly left his new cruiser at the spaceport. Shten had also left, returning home for an undetermined amount of time. Tem had watched his ship away, then had gotten straight to work with the setting up of camp. Night finally fell and the camp was settled in, and everyone had settled down for the evening. Cheerful conversations around controlled fires dotted the village and some people walked along the moonlit trails. Tem was just glad to get into his hut, pull on a clean tunic and climb into his bed. "I can't sleep, can I stay in here?" A voice spoke to him. His mind was so numb; he didn't register who it was. "Sure, climb aboard, captain?" Tem said wearily. Another body slipped into the large bed with him. He yawned, use to sharing a bed. Soft lips pressed against his and his body's aches and pains vanished. _Mm, I like this dream,_ Tem thought wearily. He ran his fingers lightly across a cheek; it felt so life-like, brushing hair back behind an ear. A hand ran up his chest and he slid his hand down an arm, the tips of his fingers brushing up against a bracelet. A bracelet, like the kind Myta wears? His mind came to complete alert like the crack of a whip and his eyes shot open. In an attempt to get Myta off him and get some space between the two of them, he managed to knock both of them of the bed and quickly crawl a few feet away. "What the hell?" He shouted angrily. "You said I was welcome in here!" Myta shouted back. "Besides," She started, her tone more seductive. "You were liking it." Tem rubbed his temples. "Like it or not, what possessed you to do _that_?" He asked, trying to keep calm, despite the feverish movements of his thoughts. "Well, I figured you weren't with anyone, and I'm not with anyone…" She said slowly. Tem looked at her, the moonlit that shone in reflected off her over-sized tunic, but yet, it still seemed to compliment her features wonderfully. She had a playful, seductive look on her face and Tem was suddenly very attracted to the Firrereon. _Focus Marr!_ He scolded himself. _You're supposed to be angry!_ "I'm going for a walk." He said solemnly, getting up and walking to the door, slipping on his boots and walking out the door. "Tem, wait!" But Tem didn't turn or acknowledge that he heard anything, the door simply closed behind him.

Auwna tossed and turned in her bed, not, surprisingly, waking Ruwn in the whole process. Her tunic was too big and she found it irritable. Looking over at the sound asleep Zabrak next to her, she smiled and slipped out of bed. _I'll only be gone a minute,_ she thought to herself as she slipped on her boots and crept out the door. A cool breeze met her as she walked down the gravel path, her boots crunching with each step. Someone was perched on a rock up ahead and she recognized the slouching figure almost immediately. Tem had usually gone off to stare at the stars on most of their missions and he could be found perched on almost anything, like a Kowakian Monkey-Lizard. "Hey there, stranger." He said, his voice dull, as it always was when he stargazed. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked before she could sit down on a cargo box next to his rock. "Yeah, you know, new planet, new beds…" She trailed off, after seating herself. "No fighting, no action. It's boring and you don't like it." Tem said, and turned to face her, smirking. "You're lucky I don't smack the smirk off your face." Auwna threatened. "It's true, isn't it?" Tem insisted. Auwna sighed. "Yeah, I'm too much a soldier." Tem looked at her skeptically and shook his head. "There's still time to learn how to live the ordinary life." Tem said, looking back up at the stars. "Hey, whoa, listen, if you think you're going to leave me behind on the next mission, you are sorely mistaken. Me and Ruwn will follow you to the end, Tem." Auwna said, sounding half-hysterical. She took a deep breath and calmed herself quickly. Tem laughed. "What's so funny?" She growled. "You, you and your misplaced respect. Just because I march into a battle, doesn't mean you must follow me through the thick of it." Tem said, not taking his eyes off the stars. "I want you to promise me something, Auwna." Auwna looked at Tem again. His tone had changed and he was completely solemn. "There's a big battle about to rage on. Not just on one system, but over many. I have seen it. But I want you to do two things during this war." Tem said, turning to face her. "One; when Ruwn asks, you will listen and accept. No more fighting, no more soldier, you leave that all behind when he asks you too." Auwna opened her mouth to object, but Tem held up a hand to stop her. "Second; do not hesitate, even for a second, to fire the last shot."

Myta crept about the camp, not sure which way Tem went. She couldn't see a thing, and jumped every time her shadow slipped out in front of her. A bush shivered near her and she peered into the darkness. "Tem?" She called, hoping he would stop hiding and protect her from the imaginary nightmarish creatures that hid behind each corner. The wind howled in a sort of mocking laugh, and a hand clenched her shoulder. A blaster barrel rammed into her back and a snarling voice whispered to her. "No." Its raspy voice lulled. "But let's find him together. _Now_."

Tem's senses flared to life as someone's fear overwhelmed him. It felt familiar, and young, and Tem remembered storming out of his hut without explanation. Myta could be in trouble. "Auwna, you should go to bed." Tem said, waving his hand, calling on the Force to influence her mind and not wanting her to be put in any danger. "I should go to bed." She repeated and stumbled off back to the hut she occupied with Ruwn. Tem bolted into the woods, following the burning presence that echoed for help. There was no time to grab his weapons, but he could always really on his Force powers. Hopefully his three weeks of no sleep wouldn't affect him too badly.

A dark cave loomed before him. He was very reluctant to go in, but the cry for help in the Force remained strong. "Help!" A frantic woman's voice called to him, almost as if willed into existence by Tem's thoughts. "I'll be right there!" He shouted back and ran into the cave. The voice carried throughout the labyrinth like cave and he couldn't pinpoint its source anywhere. Tem looked over the edge of a crevasse and squinted to try and pierce the darkness, but he couldn't see anything. Harsh laughter bounced off the wall and Tem could only think of one name to match the cold, bitter laughter. _BD-C0R._ The droid seemed to materialize from the shadows as it stepped up to Tem, it's blood red lightsaber _snap-hissed_ to life and the thrumming sound echoed off the walls. "Stay back, Budecore. Do you want a repeat of our last meeting?" Tem threatened, but it was useless, the droid knew it had the advantage, and it laughed at him. "You are without a weapon, and you still bare the mark of my lightsaber over your ey-…" Tem cut him off before he could continue. "That could change." Tem snarled and called BD-C0R's blaster rifle to his hands. He managed to pull of one shot, which the droid absorbed, but the force from the shot sent both of them flying, sending Tem falling down the crevasse. He landed roughly to the ground, his skin torn and bleeding from smashing against the crevasse wall. Budecore hissed and snarled, mentioning his favorite blaster, then he begun laughing again. "Two lives sit in the balance, while a third organic hunts them both. Will the boy save the girl, or will he flee the scene, leaving the girl to her death? Enjoy your time with the Aruk'shna, Tem Marr. I assure you, you will not survive." BD-C0R's voice called down to him, then faded. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He groaned loudly and looked around the empty cave. "What the hell is an…" An ear-piercing roar cut him off and thunderous footsteps echoed towards him. "Aruk'shna." Tem murmured breathlessly as the giant beast lumbered forward. It was like a giant Aurk from Canaltha, except it had wings. In the cave, those wings were useless, but the rest of its body could manage. Thick scales, long, sharp claws and teeth and a razor-edge tail that could both flatten and cut Tem in half. Eyes widening, he backed away from the monstrosity slowly. Tem quickly decided he was beginning to hate droids, starting with Budecore, all the way to faulty astromechs. The tail swung out at Tem viciously, trying to stab him, or knock him into the rock walls around them. He ducked and leapt over each swipe, the razor edge of the tail cutting through his skin. Tem knew the tail was only a distraction until the rest of the body could catch up and eat him alive, or tear him inside out. He was beginning to run out of time and energy, slowly wearing down from lack of sleep, pain, and exhaustion. The tail stabbed into the ground in front of him, then pulled back. Tem noticed Budecore's blaster lying there, and looked up at the waiting tail, getting ready for another stab. Tem cartwheeled forward, grabbed the blaster, stumbled, and swung himself up onto the tail as it crashed down. He was sluggish, due to the weight of the blaster. He ran up the length of the tail, blaster dragging the entire way, until he reached the mighty beast's back. He rammed the butt end of the blaster into its back and used his foot to pull the trigger repeatedly. High-powered shots tore through the stalactites into the cave ceiling. As the Aruk'shna tried to throw him off, it only spread the blaster bolts all around the ceiling. Tem's grip on the blaster slip and he was thrown from the back of the Aruk'shna and he slammed into a rock wall. He got up quickly and broke free the loose stalactites, bringing them down on the Aruk'shna with as much force as he could muster using the Force. Each stabbed through the strong hide of the Aruk'shna, but didn't stop it. "Oh, Hell." Tem shouted at the beast. He once again ducked and leapt over a swinging tail, which now was faster than before, the beast eager to kill him. Cries for help echoed back to Tem, and he recognized Myta's voice. "Myta?" He shouted into the cave. "Tem?" She cried back. She came out a side tunnel, looking horribly frightened and slightly injured, but she was all right. The tail swung again, and Tem ducked, at the last second realizing it was heading for Myta. "Myta! Look out!" Tem shrieked and ran towards the tail uselessly. It was too late, though. Myta was caught off guard and was smashed into the rock wall, her body falling limp to the ground. Tem's emotions swirled like a hurricane and electricity bounced off the cave walls, even coursing through his body. He stood with an arm out-reached towards the Aruk'shna and watched as bubble of electricity formed around the beast. Tem's mind went blank, as he manipulated the Force, until blood splattered against his face and he came back to reality. He had used the Force and defeated the Aruk'shna, the completely mutilated body, dead, in front of him. Skin and muscles and scales torn without mercy, eyes no longer existing and the strong stink of death stung Tem's nostrils. He fell to his knees and vomited until his stomach was empty. When he thought himself well enough to travel again, he crawled over to Myta and cradled her in his arms. "Everything's going to be okay." Tem murmured and carried the unconscious Firrereon back to camp.

Tem had healed most of Myta's wounds, using a mixture of conventional medicines and Force techniques. She had taken no spinal cord damage, so she wouldn't run the risk of being paralyzed, but back of her head had a small gash, but that was easily fixed. He used the Force to determine internal injuries, but there appeared to be none. The tail had just missed her ribs, and none of her organs had broken open from the impact. There was, however, a large purple-blue bruise across her stomach. Something he could not fix, or heal. He rose from the bed and went to the Refresher, to examine his own injuries. His arm and half of his face were stained in Aruk'shna blood. The horrible images quickly surfaced and he nearly vomited again. He had, of course, seen more horrible things. The slaughtering of women and children, as droids tore through cities and flattened them, with no mercy, the death of friends and comrades, but this seemed different. He had controlled the power that had mutilated the Aruk'shna, it was on his whim that it was so brutally destroyed and ripped of life. Weariness stole his energy and he just wanted to crawl into bed and forget this ever happened, just like his parents' death. He quickly shoved both thoughts to the back of his head and started washing the blood off his arm and face. His tunic was ripped and torn, stained with blood and sticking to his skin. He washed up, and put on a new tunic, but left his wounds untreated. He was too tired to heal, and they would heal naturally on their own. It was no big difference to him how quickly his body healed. Right now, he just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. He stepped out of the Refresher and found Myta sitting up right on the bed, crying. She looked up and stared at him, tears streaming down her cheek. "What's wrong?" He asked as he made his way to sit on the edge of the bed. She threw herself at him and clung to him desperately, sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm _so_ sorry!" She cried. "I didn't want you mad, and I went out to find you and apologize! I didn't mean for you to have to come and save me! I didn't mean to have you hurt!" She blurted, burying her face in his chest. Tem hesitated for a moment then rubbed the upset girl's back. "It's okay." He soothed. "We're both okay now. Don't worry." He felt slightly awkward by this. He never had to soothe someone like this before. Usually on the front lines, he ended up telling dying people to hang on until medics arrived. He never really had to deal with someone on his own like this before. _Always time for new experiences_, he told himself dully and continued comforting Myta.

A light knocking woke Tem up. He had fallen asleep next to Myta, who had remained desperately latched to him throughout the night. Prying loose from her grip, he slipped out of the bed and crept over to the door. A tall, cloaked figure blocked his view and a Twi'lek emerged from the folds of the robes, quickly entering the hut, a scout blaster in her hand. It was Illist, the Species Relations assistant. "Hey! What's going on?" Tem asked. Illist turned quickly and pointed the blaster at him. "Get in here! Quickly!" She snarled at the giant cloaked figure. He lumbered in and removed his cloak. "It has been some time, Tem." Tupag said. "Tupag! You're alive!" Tupag shook his head and looked around, staying clear of any windows. "Barely. Chupa has changed, and I am being hunted by his 'bodyguards'." Tupag explained. He froze, seeing Myta asleep in his bed. "I hope we were not intruding on anything." Tupag said with a hint of amusement. Tem rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to do? I'm not sure there's anything I can do, Tupag." Tem said, his mind racing trying to come up with something. "We've been hiding underground for some time, trying to build up a resistance. We were hoping you could help front us." Illist spoke. "Wait." Tem murmured. His mind had slowed, and he was starting to lose consciousness. "I'll be leaving in four days." He said without thinking. "I will bring my cruiser here and I will tell you what to do from there." Tem finished, sagging slightly. Illist and Tupag stared blankly at him. He cocked his eyebrow at the two of them. "What?" He asked. Tupag shook his head and hugged Tem. "Nothing, we will see you in four days, old friend. I respect your decision either way." Tupag said, and pulled on his cloak. "Illist, come along." He told the Twi'lek, who tried to form words, but couldn't seem too. She followed after Tupag and Tem was soon alone with Myta again. _Chupa had changed_, Tupag had said. His eyes narrowed. The decorated welcome, the honor guard, the townhouse visit. Chupa was trying to sway him, then again, how could he tell if either of them was telling the truth about anything now? He would have to do some meditating on this. Hopefully the Force could come up with an answer that he could not. Looking at the chronometer on the wall, he thought it best to sleep for a little longer. Crawling back into bed with Myta, he took her hand in his and gently stroked it until he fell asleep. _Myta isn't so bad; it's not her fault._

Myta woke up and found herself staring at Tem. He was sound asleep, a look of solemn calmness frozen on his face. She just looked at him, her emotions swirling angrily inside of her. He had almost died looking for her. She knew she was to blame for a lot of things. She crawled out of bed and went to the Refresher, she felt horribly unclean, and didn't want Tem to see her like this. She wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out of the Refresher, to find Tem awake, and sitting on the bed, his head between his hands. He looked up and quickly averted his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there." He said abruptly, his face brightening to red. She grabbed her pack and threw it over her shoulder, quickly ducking back into the Refresher, giggling at how embarrassed Tem was to see her so exposed. She dressed herself in her blouse and leather skirt and came back out of the Refresher. Tem was now pacing the room, this time he smiled at her when he noticed her. "Tem, listen, I'm really sorry." She said, staring at her feet. "About everything. I'll just go now, and I'll head back to Quitun, or something. It's pretty nice there, I guess. You won't have to worry about me anymore." She said, trying to keep herself from crying. She turned to the door and was on her way out when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned and looked at Tem, who looked at her painfully. "Please, don't go. I… might've misjudged you. Maybe we can get to know each other better some time." He offered, fumbling for words. Myta smiled as tears ran down her cheeks and she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. He laughed nervously and patted her on the back. Then Ruwn showed up.

Three cries of surprise rang out, and Ruwn watched as Tem and Myta quickly jumped away from one another. Ruwn stepped in and looked quizzically at both of them. Myta was blushing, her face a deep red, Tem kept his face hidden and his back turned to him. Myta lowered her gaze. "I guess I'll talk to you later, Tem." She murmured and made her way out the door. "Yeah, see you." Tem murmured back and watched as she left. Ruwn stared at Tem. "Do I even _want_ to know what happened last night?" He asked. Tem shot him a quick glare, which only made Ruwn think very dirty things. "Oh, Tem, I never knew you had it in you. A real ladies man, eh?" He said with a wink. "Why are you here?" Tem growled. "I've come to pick you up for our date." He replied cheerfully. Tem's eyebrows raised curiously. "Oh? Auwna's not jealous?" Tem said with the hint of a grin. "Well, when she finds out it was with you, she'll understand." Ruwn said. "Well, let's not keep everyone waiting. Shall we?"

Tem _hated_ shopping. Especially here on Luath. People were stopping him, and posing for holos with him, and going on about how great he was. Not only did his shopping take longer than it had to be, but he was becoming irritated by all these people who thought he was so much different then they were. After another holo-shoot, Tem was finally able to load the last of the supplies onto a wagon, pulled by a Cheedub. It warbled and honked as Tem climbed up onto the wagon and settled against a bag of Zentr feed. Auwna and Ruwn climbed onto the wagon as well and Tem looked at them wearily. "Any news from our Gotal leader?" Tem asked, making room for them to sit down. "We've got to get ready for a little trip to Heleska Eight." Auwna informed him. "We're suppose to bring some Jedi with us too." Ruwn added. Tem cocked his eyebrow at them, and Auwna provided an answer. "Cuun is there. Soldiers can't kill him, so he's going to have Jedi do it while we take care of droids on the ground. Well, while you guys take care of the droids on the ground. I'll be leading the attack against Heleska's defenses." Auwna said. "Datapad?" Tem asked, whistling softly for the Cheedub to move. "As always." She replied with a smirk and handed him a datapad. "I just love a good read."

"Transmission from Mynock Hatchling courtesy of the Old Folks Home." Xio spoke in code, using the code names that had been given to her when she left on missions. This was to protect Jedi business from being listened in on. "Old Folks Home reads you loud and clear, what can we do for you Mynock Hatchling?" Someone from the Jedi Temple responded. "I need to speak with the Council right away." Xio said. "They have already passed on a message to give you. They will be sending Master Nal'Tai, Master Surm, and Master Awtuc to Kessel awaiting your pick-up. Goodbye." The comm died and Xio stood silent, her mouth hanging open. The Council was starting to creep her out. Collecting her things, she hefted up her bag and went to stand by Nex's side as they waited together for Tem to show up.

The next day was uneventful, as far as anyone was concerned. Tem kept getting visited by Tupag, and they had long conversations in private, while Myta and Illist guarded the doorway. Many people had gone to the beach and enjoyed themselves, while Tem would hide away in his hut and just meditate. Xio and Nex hardly left their company, as did Ruwn and Auwna. The next day, Tem brought the giant Republic Cruiser, christened _Reason for Doubt_, and they loaded up to pick up the Jedi on Kessel and head back to Anteid to be briefed for their next mission. Many ends were soon coming, and people knew it.

As troops and Zentr riders were trained and briefed, Tem watched over the modifications being made to _Doubt_, new turbolaser emplacements, new ID signatures, and fashioned with a new coat of blue paint. It was even more impressive then it was in its old Republic colors. The Jedi would spar in the hangar, surrounded by crowds of people, gawking over the elegance of the light weapons, and some just gawking over the surprisingly graceful and attractive Frozian Jedi, Mande Awtuc. Tem would find himself standing idly by and just watching the Frozian from time to time. The two had made a strong bond through the Force, and it was as if he was being escorted by a living conscience. Among the other Jedi were Surm, the Jedi Knight from Tem's first visit to the Temple, and Yahra Nal'Tai. While several watched another sparring match between the considerably small Yahra, and the over-sized Mande, Tem noticed that only Xio and Surm were standing on the outskirts of the crowd. His eyes narrowed dangerously and he scanned for the other Jedi. He came out of corridor and returned to Xio's side, almost as if willed back by Tem's very thoughts. Tem still didn't like it, but he couldn't prove otherwise. He looked at his hands as he remembered in the incident in the Jedi Temple. Two rather loud voices caught Tem's attention and he looked over at the two Zabraks, Ruwn and Auwna. Both speaking loudly, but taunt with pain, Ruwn turned sharply, made an off-handed gesture to Auwna and stormed off. She stormed off the other direction, but Tem could sense that neither of them was really angry. What was wrong was another question. Jumping over the guard railing, Tem snatched a tow cord and slid down it, planning to intercept Ruwn.

Ruwn was reluctant to stop, but finally found no where else to go once he got outside of the training grounds. Tem caught up to him and sat next to him on a fallen pillar just outside the entrance to the place where the three of them were years before. Then it was a game, now they were facing a threat. "Ruwn, are you okay?" Tem asked. Ruwn looked over at him from over his shoulder then turned away again. "I'm just fine, and you?" He replied, his voice was cracked and pained. "Stop lying to me, I'm a Jedi, I know these things." Tem said, trying to lighten the mood. He shouldn't have even bothered. Ruwn snapped around and shoved an accusing finger in his face. "Stay out of my head then, _Jedi_. You have no business being in there." The Zabrak snarled furiously. Without thought, Tem's fist flew and hit the Zabrak square in the jaw, sending him to the ground with a thud. "_Don't_ even think about pointing a finger at me like that again." Tem said, calmly, yet sternly. Tem rubbed his knuckles and pulled the Zabrak up. "C'mon, I'm only watching out for you and Auwna. I'm sorry I hit you, but you were in need of a reality check." Tem said. Ruwn rubbed his jaw without a word. "Now, again, tell me what's wrong." With a sigh, Ruwn started from the very beginning.

Auwna had been chosen as squad leader to lead all ships into combat over Heleska Eight. With only a starfighter, things looked pretty grim that she would survive. She was an excellent pilot, though, better than Tem, even, but no one could last long going head-on against automated gun turrets. Auwna watched silently as troops marched onto _Reason for Doubt_, watching for any sign of Ruwn in the thousands of faces. She wondered what would happen to the two of them, or if either of them would survive the coming battle. Most people, she knew, were marching to their very deaths. The Jedi marched up after the troops, no one nearing the five out of either fear, or respect, Auwna wasn't sure. The landing ramp slowly raised and Auwna blew out a soft sigh. _Goodbye, Ruwn_, she thought to herself then turned away. Standing right behind her was Ruwn. He looked between her and his feet for a few silent moments before speaking. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you." He said, scratching the back of his neck. She watched him for a few seconds before throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry too, Ruwn." She said, crying softly. "I just wanted to say goodbye, and I love you." Ruwn murmured. Auwna looked up at him and smiled sadly. "I love you too, Ruwn, I love you too." She said. Engines whined then roared to life behind them and Auwna slipped away from him. "Get going, or you're going to miss your ride." Auwna said, wiping tears away. "I've got one last thing to do before I go…" Ruwn trailed off, then kissed her, holding her close to him and time seemed to stop. When time seemed to finally start again, they slipped away from each other once again, but Auwna wasn't as worried anymore. _He'll be able to take care of himself…_

_Reason For Doubt_ roared through hyperspace. They would be at Heleska Eight in a day and everyone was more worried then a Jawa with a piece of machinery that couldn't be repaired or salvaged. Those who had been trained to ride Zentr mounts had stayed with their riding beasts throughout the trip in the hangar. The hangar was also home to containers of equipment and protocol droids, which Tem was rebuilding from the ship's treasuries and service bays. Tem and Ruwn worked at the bridge, acting as a skeleton crew so the essential troops for the battle were not overworked. Ruwn was distant and silent, his thoughts never far from Auwna. Tem was just as silent, trying to ease the mental storm raging in his head. All the colors on the console in front of him swirled together and he became distracted by the marvelous colors. Voices whispered in his ear then went silent and he regained his focus. Mande had added in redoubling his mental barriers, and Tem knew it. He sent his thanks through the Force and returned to monitoring his systems. He still wasn't sleeping at night and muscle fatigue was making itself apparent from all the work he was doing around the ship. He was glad to relax in the bridge, and might even just fall asleep. Ruwn remained silent, though, and Tem couldn't stand it. Falling noisily into a chair beside him, he pointed at a blue indicator. "She's going to be fine, you know." Tem said, as if speaking to the indicator. "I know, but I can't help but worry." Ruwn replied distantly, running his fingers over a pressure stabilizer controller. "You should be worrying about yourself. You've got me to make all the trouble in the galaxy for you." Tem said with a wink. Ruwn smiled thinly, but didn't seem reassured. "I guess so."

The lounges were busy with people talking, and the cafeteria was literally bursting at the seems as everyone tried to get a meal. "Why did I not foresee this?" Mande said, standing taller than all the beings there. Xio laughed and looked around. "Can you see Nex or Master Yahra anywhere?" She asked, standing on her tiptoes to try and see over the crowds. "Master Nal'Tai and Master Surm are speaking to each other on the far side of the cafeteria. Nex is somewhere in the middle, I cannot focus on him…" Mande trailed off. The Frozian's eyes glazed over slightly as she vanished into thought and Xio was left to her own devices. Trying to find Nex in the crowd, she finally spotted him close to a dispenser, and in the middle of the crowd. She smiled and sent him the equivalent of a kiss through the Force. He returned the gesture with more intensity and Xio blushed. _You should wait until we get to our cabin…_ Xio thought. _By the time we get out of here, we'll be on Heleska's surface_; Nex mused, speaking directly into Xio's mind. _Then stop teasing me_, Xio replied, a smile forming. Mande was still in a contemplative state, so Xio continued her telepathic conversation with Nex, but as the minutes dragged on, the Frozian had come to some dark conclusions.

Heleska Eight filled the viewport as _Reason For Doubt_ raced towards it. Orbital Gun Stations created a strong defense against any attack from space, but could easily bombard the surface of a planet. Tem shivered and forced back the sudden images. "Ready?" Tem asked the bridge crew, whom he had trained to do the following procedure. "Do or die, Admiral, do or die." One joked, while everyone readied his or her terminals. "Drop the exterior shield." Tem ordered. "Get ready to raise the hull shielding as soon as they open fire. Are the pop hatches ready?" He asked, talking to different officers as he paced the bridge. "Aye Captain. All systems are green, waiting your signal." Tem nodded his approval and sat in the commander's chair. "Accelerate to attack speed, this ride is going to get bumpy." All sound was drowned out as the ship's engines roared and whined as they exerted large amounts of power. The gun stations wasted no time in targeting the cruiser and opening fire. "Blast pop hatches four! Two! Seven! One! Eight! Five! Three! Six!" Tem shouted over the engine's roar. A distinct _thunk _sound radiated into the bridge as pieces of hull plating shot off the ship and into space. They were trying to make the enemy believe they were taking severe damage, and die in a crash landing on Heleska's surface. "Empty the gas tanks!" Tem shouted again, as smoke was released into open space from the openings in the ship. "Breaking the atmosphere!" An officer cried and the ship jumped through the wind currents. _All right, Ruwn, don't mess it up now…_

"Arm the launchers!" Ruwn shouted, his hand on the emergency release button for the descent fans. Through the openings, they would launch plasma grenades to give off enough heat to create an 'explosion' that had been the cruiser. At least, that's what Tem was hoping for. He slapped his palm against the release button and air screamed in at them. "Fire!" Ruwn ordered and dozens of plasma grenades shot out into the air. Ice and metal ground together in a thunderous roar as the ship collided with the planet's surface, and was followed by the explosion made by the grenades. Ruwn heaved a sigh and hopped that this little act had fooled the droid brains, or they would all be very dead, very soon, anyway.

The explosion pitched everyone against his or her consoles and Tem smacked into the viewport painfully. "Are you all right, sir?" Someone called to him. Picking himself off the ground, he dusted himself off. "Always wear your restraints." Tem said, trying to keep his vision from spinning. "Yes, sir." The bridge crew said with a snicker. With a smirk, Tem sat back down onto his chair and rubbed his head. At least he wasn't back in the Med Bay. "All right, let's go." Tem said and watched as the crew filed out. He soon followed slowly after them, still dizzy from his little incident on the bridge. By the time he reached the hangar, his head had cleared and he could feel the full brunt of Heleska's cold. He found his pack waiting for him in the hangar and he quickly pulled on the Vulcan thermal jacket and activated the heat units. This would keep him warm, and less exhausted from maintaining his body heat using the Force, while he traveled Heleska Eight's surface. The hangar was a buzz of activity as people talked and laughed and enjoyed themselves while they unloaded cargo and started setting up shelters outside. They had barely been on the planet thirty minutes and already, it seemed danger was upon them. Sudden urgency filled Tem and cries of panic echoed from outside. Half-running, half-sliding on the frost build up on the hangar floor, Tem rushed out of the ship and ran towards the cries for help. A small Squib that Tem didn't recognize was dangling from a long tail attached to a large, white, fur-covered, bi-pedal creature. It was accompanied by at least eight more of it's kin. "Admiral! Please! Help me!" The Squib cried. "Woiry, aoyyar pmr!" The beast roared and shook the Squib. Something seemed familiar about all of this to him, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Tem took several steps forward before the monster roared at him. "Lrrq nsvl!" Tem snarled and reached for his lightsaber. "Lrrq zr nsvl!" He shouted back without thinking. Then everything fell into place. These beasts were Burnaks, slave labor on Canaltha when he was a boy. The Burnak dropped the Squib unceremoniously to the ground and stared at him, with an intense, quizzical look. "Upi dqrsl Burnak?" It said. "Upi'tr ypp upimh yp nr s Slavara." It spoke to itself. "Ury upi idr yjr dszr Mechan…" It trailed off. "Slavara!" One of the other Burnaks shouted and raised their projectile guns, which they seemed to pull out of their fur. Tem advanced, unhooking his lightsaber. The emerald blade hissed to life and Tem stood defiantly in front of the Burnaks. "Fpm'y zslr zr frdytpu upi." He growled threateningly. The Burnak closest to him grinned a large, sharp-toothy smile. "O aolr upi. Gsaa nsvl." It said, turning to the other Burnaks and stalking towards them. Tem stood for a few minutes until the Burnaks vanished into the distance. Heaving a sigh, Tem shut off his lightsaber and hooked it back onto his belt.

By the time Tem got back to the ship, it was easy to tell that things had fallen into complete disarray. Zentrs were loose and disobedient, breaking into containers and eating rations. People were all huddled inside the ship, talking all at once to a flustered Ruwn, who nearly clung to Tem as soon as he made it to the Zabrak. "Quiet! Now!" His voice boomed over everyone, mainly because of his use of the Force to amplify his voice. "Janelle, get out there and tame those Zentrs. Don't put them in cages, though, that'll just irritate them further. Ortor, I want you to go and…" Tem slowly stationed everyone back to work and finally came to Ruwn. "I'm sorry, Tem, I just couldn't handle it. Then you left, and then the Jedi left…" Ruwn blurted, rambling on about his troubles. "Wait, the Jedi are gone?" Tem snapped unintentionally. Ruwn cowered slightly and nodded. Suppressing a growl, he turned suddenly, snatched a pair of riding goggles from an equipment crate and ran outside, hoping to find a saddled Zentr.

"Are you sure Admiral Marr ordered this?" Mande asked, narrowing her eyes at the human male Jedi Knight leading them. "Positive." Nex replied, not turning to face her. Mande couldn't read his thoughts or intentions as clearly as Tem's, or Yahra's, and that made her very suspicious. Something was not right with that young man. "You sense it as well?" Surm whispered, not even turning to face her. "I don't sense any Krayt Dragon wearing a Bantha disguise." The Chadra-fan replied. Surm and Mande fell silent. _We are treading in very murky waters_, Yahra spoke through the Force directly into Surm and Mande's mind, so Nex or Xio could not overhear them. _With all due respect, I still sense there is something amist_, Surm replied, his facial expression not changing at all. _Yahra is right, we can't turn on each other, and if he has the power to keep us out and shift his thoughts so well, he can probably manipulate our judgment if we were to confront him_, Mande thought. Both the Twi'lek and the Chadra-fan nodded in agreement. _We will confront him later._ "I'm afraid I could not confirm any of Tem's plans. He kept blocking my mind probe when I tried to read deeper into this thoughts." Mande spoke aloud, absently. "You were trying to read his thoughts? Why would you do something like that?" Xio asked, seeming anxious. Mande didn't know what that could mean, but she didn't think more into it. "His thoughts are shattered, twisted, and wounded." Yahra said. "Like a man bathed in the blood of his people, people who he had known, grown-up with, even those he had loved." Surm added. "He poses a threat to us." He said curtly. "His fighting this war with the Cardans?" Xio asked. "No, before this event. Before the Canaltha incident as well. There is a burden that rests on his shoulders that remains staining his presence." Mande said. "His parents' death." Xio said, looking at her feet. Yahra tried to lighten the mood a bit. "He composes himself quite well." She said. "It is as if nothing is bothering him at all. His mind is as strong as his body." Mande continued. "Speaking of his body…" Yahra started with an impish little grin. Surm rolled his eyes and sighed. "Women." The three Jedi Knights laughed, but Xio and Nex remained eerily silent.

Auwna's Viper raced between enormous Valcun cruisers, all preparing for the jump to Heleska. "All fighters check in." Auwna ordered, adjusting the eyepiece she had had retrofitted into the ships systems. Taken from the same quad cannon used on Vita in Ejak aboard the _Nova Storm_. She was glad to have the small piece of her past back with her for a battle she wasn't likely to live through. Ypri the Verpine had helped her hot-wire it onto her ship, along with several other special modifications just for the battle. All fighters signaled in, Ypri being the last, as if he were occupied with something else. Auwna cast a long look around the void space. _Not much to be distracted by_, she thought blandly. "Form up, and prepare for the jump to hyperspace." Auwna issued the next command then switched comm frequencies. "Captain Dorje, are you ready for departure?" She asked. "Awaiting your command, Commander." He replied dryly. "Commanderz?" Ypri hissed over the comm. "Yes, Ypri?" Auwna asked, stopping her fidgeting with the eyepiece. "Wez arez readyz foris hyperspacis." He reported. "To Heleska." Auwna muttered and lowered the hyperspace lever.

Xio blinked back tears, as the wind roared around them. Night had fallen and the chill winds had picked up. The frigid air irritated her eyes and she could barely see two feet in front of her. In the haze, the eerie glow of the power station glowed green. Nex was hunched by a ridge, peering over, his lightsaber in hand. Xio crawled over to him. "What is it?" She whispered, peering over the ridge as well. "Droid patrols." He whispered back. "We must be quick then, without being spotted." Xio said. Nex shook his head. "You take the others inside, I will create a distraction then follow you in." Xio grabbed his arm. "No, you're not doing it alone." Nex freed his hand with an expert flick of his wrist. "Yes, I am. I'll be right behind you. Don't worry."

Tigal the Burnak who had held the Squib upside down stood in front of the clan leader, Chief Hesh, pleading her case. "The Sky Flyers are not Slavara. Our scouts say their scent marks the land to the east, where the Hunter Mechan have marked their land. The Sky Flyers were armed for battle, Chief. I propose we offer our aide to the Sky Flyers and be rid of the Hunter Mechan that threaten our camps regularly. I am sick of moving from my home because of foul smelling Mechan. I say we fight." She roared so everyone could hear her. Murmurs raced through the chambers and Hesh slammed his staff hard against the icy floor. "Silence!" He roared, filling every corner of the chamber with his voice. "I must deliberate all of this." He said slowly. "Leave me at once." Tigal bowed and turned to leave, following the other Burnaks filing out. "Tigal, wait, we must talk." Hesh called after her in a different tone. "Yes, Chief?" Tigal said, returning to where she had just been, bowing her head. "I still wait for your acceptance on my proposal." He said with a devilish grin. "Hesh, I told you I would not accept it until I witnessed the changes with Burnak society. We cannot continue this hiding and slaughtering of Sky Flyers, just because they enslaved us. We allowed the Mechan and few aliens here, because they were mostly armed with Mechan, nothing more. Now look at us, we run from the soul-less and they slaughter us without second thought. We have nothing to loose by joining forces with the Sky Flyers that have come. I would not be here talking to you, if the Sky Flyers were interested in killing us or enslaving us. Maybe then," Tigal argued, "I'll accept your proposal." She turned and stalked out, leaving Hesh alone before he could utter a single word to her.

Tem jumped off his Zentr and looked at the ground. Footsteps littered the snow, only now being covered by the soaring snow. He mustn't be far behind them. As he followed the footsteps, followed by his Zentr, the glow of the power station glowed softly in front of him. He could hear noises ahead of him, and he dove to the ground. Crawling on his stomach to the edge of a ridge, he looked down upon the strangest of sights. Four Jedi figures ran towards the power station, while a fifth stayed and cut through two droid patrols, while several more made their way toward him. The fifth Jedi remained in a ready-battle stance until the other four Jedi had gotten safely inside. The fifth Jedi relaxed and let themselves be surrounded by the droids. A voice snarled at the Jedi, and Tem recognized Budecore's familiar voice. "Nex! You foul organic scumbag! You promised me Marr!" He shouted. Nex raised his hands in defense to the berserk droid. "He's on the way, I've been tracking him through the Force, and he has been close on our tail for an hour now. I've lost his trail though, it was his animal I was following, but he's no longer riding it." Nex explained. "As long as he comes, or I will make you sorry you lied to me, human." Nex smirked, nodded and stalked into the power station. Budecore turned to the sentry droids and barked an order Tem couldn't hear, and then stalked off.

Dawn rose over Heleska Eight, and the storm had cleared. It was a strangely beautiful day, even with such a dark fate that awaited them all. Most people marched, while the Zentr riders pulled up behind. It was quiet, except for the shuffling feet, and armor clanking together. They were only an hour away from the power station, but had passed several anti-air emplacements. "If we don't drop those, our ships'll be blown out of the sky." Ruwn said allowed, mentally planning out the battle in his mind. Now he knew why Auwna and Tem would get so stern and serious during a battle. If they weren't, everyone would die. The weight of the thought tugged on Ruwn's heart. _No, get a grip_, he told himself sternly, _Auwna and Tem aren't here, and it's up to you. If you choke, everyone dies. Do you really want Auwna to die?_ Ruwn clenched his fists slightly and nodded sternly. He could do this; he was a commander after all.

Lightning bounced off the snow and ice, even off Tem himself and the droids around him, as rage enveloped his mind and he swung his lightsaber in a blind fury. Cutting down droids, and burning his way through the hailstorm of blaster fire. _Nex must die._ One blaster bolt strayed and burned across the back of his hand, but no pain came. _Nex must die._ Force Lightning surged from Tem's fingertips and he decimated the remaining droids. Tem snarled and panted, looking around at the demolished droids. Human presence echoed from inside the power station, and Tem dashed towards it. _Nex. Must. Die._

"It's quiet." Surm murmured. "Too quiet." Mande added, looking around, gripping her lightsaber more tightly. "I have a _bad_ feeling about this." Xio said, frightened. Pain sparked across Mande's mind and she fell to her knees, crying out. "Mande!" The other three Jedi cried out and went to her aide. "What's wrong?" Yahra asked, worried, looking around nervously, and withdrawing her own lightsaber. "Tem! Kill! Ah!" Mande clawed her head, babbling about purella and other spider-like monsters across the galaxy. Sparks and the distinct thrum of a lightsaber echoed down to them. Surm and Yahra held their lightsabers at the ready, but Xio was the only one to activate hers. From the shadows, a green lightsaber plunged forward at Xio, a maddened Tem at the end of it, swinging madly at her. Their lightsabers clashed, blocked, parried, and then finally locked into place, each pushing their own weight against each other. "Tem! What are you doing!" Xio shouted at him. "It's me! Xio! Stop!" Tem snarled and growled, then choked and stumbled backwards. "...What?" He whimpered. A blaster barrel pressed against his forehead, and soon, other droids pointed their own blasters at the Jedi. They had been trapped. "Surrender your weapons now." Budecore's voice hissed softly, almost teasingly. A glint sparked in Tem's eyes and his grip tightened on his lightsaber. Xio's eyes widened, and he shrugged slightly. "No! Tem!" But it was too late. As he turned to swing his lightsaber, five shots were triggered and then there was nothing but silence.

Tem's lightsaber deactivated, sparking profusely, as Budecore fired the shots. He laughed triumphantly, as Tem frantically tried to reactivate his lightsaber. "I ionized your energy cells. Your lightsabers are now useless." He taunted, purring softly. "Now what?" Tem growled. "You going to kill me, or are you going to take me to your Master, like a good little droid?" Budecore continued laughing, gesturing the other droids to lead the Jedi after him. "Even better. Let us witness the death of your friends."

"Hold here!" Ruwn ordered, taking his role as the only leader these troops had now seriously. "Sir, there are thousands upon thousands of droids on the other side of this ridge. Do you really think we can do this?" Janelle said, riding her scouting Zentr back to the main group. Ruwn thought in his head, and nudged towards the hill. "It's impossible for us to make it out alive." She said, checking the charges on her blaster any way. "Look! It's Tem!"

The five Jedi were led outside, thousands of droids surrounded the whole station, while monstrous droids that Tem had witnessed on Nukli. "Oh my stars." Yahra whispered. Tem smirked, noticing several yellow dots dotting the snow. He strode forward, as if to challenge Budecore. "So, my scrap-metal friend, any last words?" Budecore turned and faced Tem, metal almost pressing to skin. "That is what I should be asking you."

"What are they doing?" Janelle asked impatiently. "I don't know." Ruwn grumbled. "What do we do?" Janelle asked. Ruwn shifted his feet, and looked at his footprints in the snow. "We make a distraction…" Ruwn grinned and trailed off, and started making spheres out of the snow. He pulled his arm back and threw it, aiming for Budecore himself.

Budecore stalked about in front of Tem. "Your friends are taking too long, I will destroy you myself and the deed will be done!" Budecore swung around, lifted and ignited his lightsaber and Tem watched, unblinking as the lightsaber came down on him, and stopped. A ball of snow impacted on Budecore's face and he stumbled. "Argh!" He roared and pointed at where the snowball had come from. Ruwn grinned and waved. "Yoohoo!" He shouted playfully at Budecore and ducked over the hill. The other droids made electronic sounds of laughter at Budecore. "Get the Iridonian!" Budecore shouted and pointed furiously at the hillside. Droids marched off as ordered, and Tem winked down at one set of yellow dots. The dot winked back and shifted in front of him. The real battle was about to begin.

The two Cardan ships, and two squadrons of eight Vipers, cruised towards the floating gun turrets. Auwna listened to the comm chatter, the Captain discussing the procedures for landing with droids. They were almost out of their range when Ypri began speaking directly to Auwna. "Commander, theris somethings youz must knowz." He spoke tentatively. "Not now, Ypri. Resume comm silence." She ordered. All of a sudden, the entire Valcun attack force burst out of hyperspace. "What are they doing here!" Auwna shouted. "They'll blow our cover!" Yellow Six shouted as well. Auwna hadn't had time to learn everyone's names, so she didn't know anyone other than Ypri in her squadron. Ypri moaned softly. "The gun turrets have targeted us, Commander." Green Four said gravely. Ypri launched out of formation and barreled towards the Valcun attack force. _What was that Verpine up to?_ Twice as many Cardan cruises reverted to real space behind the attack force, and Auwna's jaw dropped. They had been trapped. "Break formation! Let's blow some droids open!" Auwna screamed and slammed her ship into a nose-dive as hundreds of droid fighters converged on them.

Ruwn and Janelle laid on their stomachs, blasters drawn and aimed just above the ridge, Janelle had all four of her arms equipped with blasters, which made Ruwn feel slightly more comfortable having drawn forty-some war droids to his position. The first few droids climbed over the ridge and Ruwn squeezed off a shot, but Janelle lay gawking. Ruwn's shot went wide, and he too fell into a shock. Long, white, furry tails had protruded from the snow and ice and had attacked the droids, tripping them and crushing them into pieces. Ruwn finally found his tongue and spoke. "Our reinforcements have arrived."

Tem took several bold, and some would consider them very stupid, steps forward. Droids turned and aimed their blasters at him. "Get their blasters!" Tem shouted, and two rows of semi-circles of Burnaks leaped up from the snow and ice, armed with icicle spears and projectile weapons, armed with ice slugs. They surrounded the Jedi in a bundle of fur and bulk, keeping the droids from getting close to them. Two Burnaks turned to him and spoke in a rough Basic. "Alian Marr, we are giving you a chance." Said one wearing a ceremonial necklace. "I am Chief Hesh, and this is Tigal, you two have already met." Tem bowed to them both. "Thank you for your help. I wasn't expecting this." He said to the Burnaks. "These Mechan have been causing us trouble, and when I had arrived at your camp, I had estimated your odds of victory. We decided it would be easier to help you and drive these beings of metal off our homeworld." Tigal said. Hesh nodded and then turned to the battle. "Excuse me, I must lead my troops forward, we cannot hold this place without all dying." Tem nodded and turned to Tigal. "We need to get the energy cells from some blasters. Our weapons don't work without them." Tem said, gesturing to the Jedi. Mande and Surm had their backs turned, fidgeting with something. The doors to the power station began to close on them, and Yahra rolled in to it and held it open with her small build. "Hurry!" She shouted. "We need the energy cells first!" Tem shouted back and helped the Jedi with the door. Tigal stalked over to them and easily crushed the door back, the metal whining to close. "Your weapon, it looks like these blasters you speak of, at your back. Can you not use the energy cells from that?" Tem looked at his modified blaster and shook his head. "No, the energy cell has to be used to pull out of the clip." Tem explained. Tigal snatched his blaster, pulled back the top, but the energy cell would not come out, so she rammed her claw into the clip and pulled free all the energy cells, leaving his blaster severely damaged, yet still barely functional. Tem tossed an energy cell to Xio and Yahra, Mande and Surm disappearing, lightsaber ablaze already, in the battlefield, deflecting blaster bolts. Yahra ignited her own lightsaber, and then Xio. "Come! Xio, we must hurry!" Yahra shouted, Tigal released the door and it started to close the human and Chadra-fan running into the power station, followed by Surm as he ducked in after them. Mande was too engross in blaster fire to turn her back, and the door closed with a thud. "Now," Tigal said, with a vicious smile, swinging an icicle spear. "We fight."

"Let's crush some droids!" Janelle shouted and urged her Zentr forward. The thunderous pounding of Zentr feet on ice drowned out any other sound. Janelle was first over the ridge and crushing a droid with the Zentr's full weight, shooting the head off another and blowing open a chest cavity of another. _I am _so_ retiring after this._

"We've lost half the squadron already, and… ARGH!" Yellow Two burst into space dust. Dorje was not approving the outcome of this quickly failing battle. Energy blasts filled all the space in the viewport in front of him, while more explosions blossomed, but none seemed to be the losses of the enemy. Just an endless slaughter of the human forces against the cold, merciless droids. Dorje strode to the viewport and watched, as a gun turret swiveled and fired into the battle. "Accelerate to attack speed, target the gun turret directly in front of us." _Your luck better be with me, Marr._

Beamer droids stalked around, disintegrating Burnaks and Zentrs alike, going completely unchallenged. Burnak sleds raced out across the barren ice of Heleska, chasing after them, launching enormous icicle spears, latched to the sleds with heavy ropes, into the bodies of the mechanical beasts. Burnaks slowly pulled themselves up on the ropes and onto the Mechan's body. They began the slow process of peeling away the protective metal layer of the Mechan and began to gut it, in an attempt to destroy it before it could destroy them. The Mechan was too clever for them, though. Sleds began to lift off the ground, and Burnaks and Juuz beasts were thrown around like rag dolls, with no where to go, except to the unforgiving ground below. Hesh watched as many in his kin died that way, and it gave him renowned strength, and he tore free large amounts of Mechan intestines. With a mighty jerk, the Mechan heaved, sputtered and fell to the ground, defeated. Beaming with pride, Hesh climbed onto another sled and pointed at their next target.

Xio, Yahra, and Surm ran through the labyrinth of the power station, until they finally reached a turbolift to the main living quarters, which was rare, seeing as only droids controlled this place. The doors hissed open slowly, just as Xio, Yahra and Surm approached it. Two Sith, followed by Nex, exited the turbolift and Xio cried out in surprise. "Nex!" Nex looked at her, disbelief on his face. "Xio!" He shouted back, then hesitated. "Help me!" He pleaded. Xio ignited her lightsaber, as the two Sith returned the challenge, red blades washing them in a blood red. "Go for Cuun, I will handle these Sith." Xio growled darkly. Yahra opened her mouth to argue, but she shoved the little Chadra-Fan on her way. "Go!" Xio ordered and charged the Sith, locking her auburn lightsaber, with both red lightsabers. Xio's mind focused, and she lost her vision of the world around her, as she fought to destroy the two Sith and free her love. She did not notice that Nex had slipped away, after the two Jedi Masters, lightsaber in hand.

Auwna was losing ground to the droid starfighters and slowly being overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Already, two hundred of the four hundred capital ships had been destroyed, and the thousand starfighters had been reduced to only a few hundred. The path was blocked and they couldn't retreat, the way cut off by the Cardan cruisers. The gun turrets were weakened the shields on their ships, and the cruisers would break through their hulls. Auwna swung her ship around and saw that Ypri had attracted the attention of hundreds of droid starfighters. "What is that insane Verpine up to?" Auwna growled and roared after him, firing madly into the swarm. Auwna slowly made her way into the ships comm range and Ypri spoke up. "Thankz the stars youz cames!" Ypri said, half-amused. "Miz transmitter hads been destroyz. Follow mez, wes musts gets closer." Auwna couldn't keep up with the Verpine. "What? Get _closer_? How close?" Auwna have screamed. "To their communications towerz. In the centerz of their formationz."

Budecore was hardly entertained by the battle. It was all too simple. The Burnaks would attack him in a frenzied state, but it was easy enough to destroy them. A broken neck here, a puncture wound into the heart, a lightsaber slash across the throat, or using the beast as a shield to take several blaster bolts from droid companions. Budecore was being lazy with each swing of his lightsaber, the movements slowed to nearly that of a non-Jedi human. The red blade met resistance, smashing into an icicle staff, that steamed and bubbled, hissed and slowly melted but the lightsaber had hardly scathed it. Budecore searched through his databases for all his lightsaber maneuvers and mixed them together, using his organic brain to coordinate the movements. The Burnak surprisingly kept up with him, and they dueled for several minutes, Budecore switching his maneuvers to try and surprise the Burnak, but it was useless. In frustration, Budecore ripped the head off a nearby HSWD and tossed it at the Burnak. "Inferior machines!" With the spare second of distraction, Budecore ran forward and plunged his lightsaber through the Burnak's chest. The Burnak sagged to the ground, and a roar echoed toward him, as another Burnak ran towards him.

Electricity sparked around Tem as he charged Budecore. He had to beat Hesh, before he got himself killed just like Tigal. He used his whole weight against the droid, slamming hard into the metal skeleton, shaking his entire system. The two slid along the ground, snow covering his face. Tem sneezed uncontrollably, and Budecore swung an arm into his chest, sending him flying back. New bruises formed on his back and arms as he crashed into the snow and ice. Budecore was already up, lightsaber ignited again, and stalked angrily towards him. Tem ignited his own lightsaber and jumped to his feet. "This ends here, Budecore!" Tem shouted angrily, the electricity around them became more intense, bouncing off any, and everything. Budecore laughed, a dark, gurgling laugh that shook Tem's core, more so than the freezing cold snow. Red and green lightsaber blades clashed fiercely, but Tem was no match for the cold calculations of Budecore. The red played singed the back of his hand and his lightsaber went spinning into the distance. He fell back into the snow, and clutched his hand to his chest, smoke rising from the wound. Eyes wide, he watched as Budecore slowly stalked forward, lightsaber raised over his head, using both arms to add strength. "This _ends_ here." Budecore said, using Tem's voice through his vocabulator. Tem didn't have the chance to think about the grim irony before a beam of green light tore through the droid's torso. Tem got to his feet, avoiding the pure beam of energy. "Just as I said, Budecore." Tem snarled at the screaming droid. His lightsaber flew to his good hand and he ignited it, deflecting the beam back at Budecore again, but sending it through the skull of the dark droid. It exploded, burning flesh stinking the air, as the droids organic brain had been completely vaporized. Without any way of controlling the body any further, it fell limp to the ground, leaving Tem and the HWSD that had shot Budecore through the back. Tem recognized the droid as the model that attacked him on _Sundant_, and kept in a ready position, should the droid decide to attack him. "Now who's inferior?" It snarled, then flicked its photoreceptors over Tem. "Greetings Tem Marr. I mean you no harm, as of yet. My programming may take over and I will shoot at you. Please, go. Cuun awaits you, and will kill all others." The droid turned to go, but Tem stopped it. "What's your operating number?" He asked. The droids photoreceptors seemed to glow a little brighter. "D4-T9I, at your service, Master Marr. I will aid your friends. Do not worry. If I could smile reassuringly, I would." Defor said. Tem nodded and let it go. "I trust you, and thank you." Defor bobbled his head and strode off into the battle droids, destroying them without hesitation from switching allegiances. _Droids._

Another lightsaber scorched her skin, as Xio fought weakly against the skillful Sith. There were now three of them, and they had formed an effective circle around Xio, keeping her trapped in the center, with little room to move without meeting the wrong end of a lightsaber. Her swings and parries were sluggish, fatigue weighing heavy on her entire body. _They just need a bit longer! _Xio told herself frantically. That split second of thought caused her to miss her footing and slip, falling hard to the ground, and watching helplessly as the Sith readied to do away with her for good.

Xio flashed across Tem's mind, and he knew immediately what he had to do. Grabbing the reigns of a nearby lone Zentr, who was enjoying laying waste to droids by slowly shaking them to death and pawing them in half, he rode fiercely into the power station, determined to get to Xio in time. _Hold on._

The door hissed open to Cuun's makeshift chambers and he slowly and calmly walked out to greet the Jedi. Nex stood behind a Chadra-Fan, who Cuun discovered was Yahra Nal'Tai, and the other was a Twi'lek that had been to see him before. "Ah, Surm, it has been some time, hasn't it?" He purred to Surm. The Twi'lek stiffened and shifted his weight. "It has." Surm replied bluntly. Cuun shook his head and stepped right up to him. "You have failed as my student, that is why I had to get a stronger one. One who would not so easily fall to the light, as you did." Surm turned so quickly and suddenly that Cuun had not even foreseen it. Lightsabers ignited and the enraged Twi'lek attacked Nex. "Traitor! You stabbed us all in the back!" Surm shouted, raising his lightsaber back. Without a single movement, Cuun shattered the Twi'lek's body, leaving it mangled and beaten, the lightsaber that was clutched in his hand rolled to Cuun's feet and he slowly raised it. "I go through so many students." He moaned softly. The lightsaber exploded in a brilliant flash of light, and his old eyes fell on Yahra. "Greetings Yahra." Cuun purred again, stepping over the dead Twi'lek to get closer to the Chadra-Fan. "It's a pleasure meeting you." He said politely. The small rodent-like being did not return the polite behavior, but instead, ignited her lightsaber. "So you choose bloodshed."

Xio was doomed. There was no stopping them from piercing her body with the blood red lightsabers. _No! Just a bit longer!_ Using the Force, she pulled free several restraining bolts to a venting tube, which whipped out and slapped away the Sith, giving her room to breathe. Her whole body screamed, trying to get up, refusing to budge. "No!" She shouted to herself. "Get up!" But her body would not move. Something was holding her down, and it seemed to lurk everywhere around the power station. Another attempt to stand was in vain, as constriction set in and she was slowly squeezed of life.

They passed by droids and power regulators, stomping over grunt droids and burning holes through anything that got in the way. Nothing would stop them. The Zentr suddenly screeched to a halt, as its nails scratched across metal before banging into a rail-guard. Down below, on another access path, Tem could see Xio, surrounded by Sith, and on the ground, in spasms and screaming loudly. He pulled his lightsaber free and slipped off the Zentr, that turned tail and ran out, leaving him alone. There was only one problem in getting to Xio; they were separated by a gap larger than five starfighters, and a drop of about two. There was no way he could make it, if he were to leap, even with the Force, and going the long way would take _too_ long to getting to her. A loud clunk overhead alerted Tem to the presence of a cable system that followed right down to where Xio was. Unsure of what it lead down there, he soon found out when he was nearly hit in the back of the head by a large bundled up droid in the shape of a box. Jumping on, he slowly pried the safeties off, and convinced the system to let him slide freely down the cable. With a distinct click sound, the safeties released and the box-droid began a quick decent towards the group. _Hold on, Xio._

It was almost like a dream, watching the brightly-lit figure fly down from the dark sky, and beam its ray of light over the dark shadows that threatened to consume her. The light burned green suddenly, and clashed with the red blades of the shadows. The light cleared from the figures face, and there was Tem's calm, serene face, not even strained in fierce combat, he was one with the Force. Xio had seen him like this before, back on Coruscant, in the Jedi Temple. Two years had passed since then, and this is where they were at now. It was funny how time seemed to slip by so quickly. Tem had been eighteen when they had met; now he was almost twenty-one. She remembered the first time she flew a ship, on Canaltha. His hands on hers, she could still feel his warmth on her skin. She blinked slowly and realized something warm was holding her hands. Tem was now over her, face strained with worry, his bright aura gone. He was squeezing her hands, and shouting at her, but the words would not make sense. His mind screamed in hers, and she understood those words. _Xio! Please! Talk to me! I can't lose you! Don't leave me here! Talk to me!_ "Tem…?" She groaned softly. "Xio!" Tem shouted back, pulling her close to his body and hugging her. "You're all right." He murmured. Tem slipped away from her, but did not let go of her hands. With his help, she slowly rose and they looked at the turbolift in front of them. "Look." Tem said, and Xio watched as a small blue lightsaber blade parried against a red blade, but missed and was cut down, sending the body flying down to the ground below. Master Yahra was free falling, and Xio watched on in shock, unmoving. Tem was more quick thinking and mustered his Force power to slow the decent of the body. The limp form lay motionless on the ground, Tem panting from the effort. Xio quickly got down on her knees and hugged the body to her. "Master!" She cried openly. Tears streaming down her face rapidly. Tem had not taken his eyes off the top of the turbolift shaft; the grim determined look in his face setting in again. He strode towards the turbolift, and Xio's mind stumbled over the thousands of possibilities. "Tem! Wait!" She said, just as Tem was about to leap up into the shaft. He turned slowly, and faced her. "Yeah, Xio?" He asked calmly. Xio's heart raced and she searched for an answer. Her mind screamed _I love you_, but her heart cringed at the possible answers. "May… the Force be with you, Tem." She said finally. Tem nodded and a smile formed on his face slowly. "You too, Xio." He turned and leapt away; skillfully landing on different support bars to make the next jump. "I love you." She murmured up at his form. _I know…_

"There's a hole in their formation, sir!" A deck officer shouted, as Dorje seated himself at a communication console. "Launch the landing craft! I want those troops down there to have some relief!" Dorje ordered. "Yes, sir!"

Auwna and Ypri flew closer and closer. Turbolaser batteries were burning the space around them with beams of energy. Auwna searched for the relay station on the ship, avoiding more and more blasts from both droid starfighters and capital ships. Finally her eyes fell on the relay station and she darted towards it, making sure not to fall out of Ypri's communication sphere. She was almost in transmission range when an explosion came from behind them. Ypri's ship fell out of range, and took several hits, spiraling towards the Cardan cruiser. The comm screeched loudly, piercing Auwna's ears, and she began to lose control of her ship. "Ypri!" Auwna shrieked. "Transmit!" The code danced across her display and she relayed it through the communications network. Suddenly, the cruisers and the droid starfighters registered as _Tem Marr_, and were attacking each other, but Ypri's ship continued to fall.

Myta pulled back the hyperspace lever, her ship hurtling into the battle, followed by the other Outriders, the bounty hunter clan, fleet of misfit ships, ranging in size, and shape, but full of the same determination of any skilled bounty hunter. "Attack any Cardan cruiser. Get them back for their attacks on our convoys, Outriders!" Myta shouted over the comm, and blasted through droid starfighters. Yips and yowls came across the comm as more ships were destroyed, and the chatter of friendly betting and gloating flooded Myta's cockpit. Each bounty hunter was being paid a quarter of a million credits for this job, which is why Myta wasn't the only one leading an attack from the Outriders on the Cardans. But Myta had accepted another proposal from Tem, shortly before they parted ways at Anteid. He had promised her a _family_.

The wedge-shaped ships descended through Heleska's atmosphere, evading the rapid blaster fire from anti-air cannons on the ground. Despite their nimble evasions, they were no match for the speed of the cannons and several fell victim to the burning stings of energy. Explosions blossomed the sky as Ruwn watched through macrobinoculars. "Hurry! We have to destroy them all!" Ruwn shouted. The handful of Zentrs, Valcuns, and Burnaks he could muster to help destroy the cannons worked furiously, tearing each down so quickly, it seemed almost unreal. Ruwn aided in the destruction of the cannons by arming plasma grenades on to their casings, and merely walking away, as scrap metal rained down around him.

Tem landed softly at the elevator shafts entrance, facing Cuun and Nex. Both Sith had their lightsabers activated, casting an eerie red haze around the dull chambers. Tem took a step closer, blazing with courage, and strength, ready to destroy the two without a second thought, but it quickly faded, and changed to a cold, empty fear. Nex took a step forward and cut Tem off from being any closer. An anger and hatred like none other burned through him, the electricity sparking all around Tem suddenly, and ferociously. It was reminiscent to the cave on Luath, yet paled in comparison all the same. The torrent of energy made so much noise, they had to shout to be heard. "You Bantha fodder! You're going to pay!" Tem snarled. Nex smiled and shook his head. "So young, so inexperienced. Can you not feel the power of the Dark Side here? Harness the power! Destroy Cuun! Together _we_ can rule the galaxy and right all wrongs!" Nex preached. The old man made no movement, nor did he seem upset by the betrayal of his apprentice. He spoke softly, like a whisper that could be heard over the noise. "Never create a betrayer you expect to be loyal to you." Cuun purred, seeming unmoved by the situation. Nex had taken the hesitation as a rejection to his proposal and attacked Tem, swinging his lightsaber madly at him. Tem ducked and dodged, fumbling for his own lightsaber. "You should have listened to me!" Nex bellowed. "You should have _turned_!" He shrieked and made a wide arc of a swing at Tem, but missed by mere centimeters. Tem's lightsaber blared to life, and he wasted no time, taking full advantage of the gap. With a flick of his wrist, the emerald blade severed Nex's lightsaber hilt, along with several of his fingers, sending him sprawling to the ground, but Tem was not finished with him. The rage bubbled in him and he lifted Nex with the Force. An electrical storm surrounded Tem as he dangled Nex over the elevator shaft, ready to drop him to his death. He didn't have the chance to let go before Nex's old lightsaber slammed across his jaw and sent Tem to the ground. Growling, Tem crawled towards the edge of the elevator shaft and watched as Nex hugged the lightsaber to his chest, along with his damaged hand, and was lowered towards Xio, several feet below. A dark grin was plastered on his face.

Xio used all the strength she could muster from the Force to lower Nex safely to the ground. What had gotten into Tem? Did he turn to the Dark Side, or had he simply lost his mind? Had he become what the Council feared? No answers came to her as Nex settled against the metal ground. "Nex, are you all right? What happened to your hand?" She asked frantically. "I'm fine, now that I'm with you." Nex said, painfully. His good hand twitched, and Xio noticed his lightsaber, thumb resting over the ON switch. "No," Xio said, stumbling backwards and reaching for her lightsaber. "No!" She cried, but Nex was already up, blue lightsaber raised high over head, ready to deliver the killing blow. A lightsaber snapped to life and Yahra jumped in front of Xio, the two blue lightsabers clashing together in a flash of sparks. "You should have finished me when you had the chance!" The Chadra-Fan shouted. Xio ignited her lightsaber and stood up, pushing Nex back with a shove from the Force. Yahra took the opening and plunged her lightsaber through the man's chest. With a shrill scream, Nex fell to his knees and clutched at the smoking hole in his chest. Yahra turned, and smiled tiredly at her. "Thank the Force you're all rig-…" She was cut off as a blue blade poked out of her chest, and she slid to the ground. Nex laughed venomously. "You… should've…. Finished me… when… you had… the chance…!" He shouted at the motionless Chadra-Fan. Xio's anger swelled, and she swung her lightsaber fiercely, separating Nex's head from his neck. Tears streamed down her face rapidly and she went to the rodent-like being's aide. It was obvious it was too late though. "I'm… sorry my Padawan…" She squeaked slowly, a thin smile playing across her face. "I… like Tem… so much more…" She snickered weakly. "So do I, Master." Xio said, smiling, even though the tears and the pain in her heart would not stop. "So do I." With a sigh, Yahra closed her eyes. "You were… always like a daughter to me, Xio… Do not mourn… for I will always be in your… heart…" The Chadra-Fan smiled again, before slowly fading, leaving nothing but empty robes in Xio's arms.

Tem and Cuun did not move from their places. He glared viciously at the old man, who seemed unaffected by it. Electricity continued to spark around Tem, but it had not been so power as before with Nex. Cuun broke the silence with a sigh, and spread his arms wide. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to apologize for the countless deaths I've caused? Well, before I do anything of such, I shall remind you that you yourself have dealt much death on your own. Fighting with the mercenaries has led you down a dark path, Tem. You are planning how to kill me now, using your knowledge of both Valcun fighting technique and Jedi style. You'll claim it was a 'noble' act. Destroying the 'dark one' who would undoubtedly rage so much destruction and chaos across the galaxy." Cuun said, making a gesture with one hand. "Bah! Jedi propaganda. Look at you, Tem. You have caused much destruction yourself. The Jedi are ignorant in their ways. What is considered in the light, is truly a dark secret. You friend down there, the girl. You managed to complete twist her view on things. She is no longer a Jedi, but a wielder of the Force with no idea what is good and bad anymore. She finds what you do justifiable, when it is clear that Jedi cannot kill." Cuun continued. "However, I offer you a proposal. I can teach you ways of the Force that the Jedi do not even whisper about, but it lurks in the very back of their minds." Cuun's voice turned to a soft whisper. "I can show you the power to help the galaxy, the way you've always wanted to. I can let you have the girl, the one you love. I can _bring back your parents._" He purred. Tem took all of this unflinching, up until the point where his parents were mentioned. He shifted uncomfortably and spoke venomously. "You've got my attention."

A gun turret exploded, along with several smaller droid starfighters. Fires blossomed across the hulls of Cardan cruisers, and the Valcuns were slowly gaining the upper hand. Throughout it all, Ypri's carbon-scored ship remained by her side. The ship brought back memories of the battle on Ejak, but they had been safe then. Tem had always made sure of it. Here, every turn was Deaths mocking face. She began to wonder if Death resembled a Hutt in anyway. More droid fighters converged on them, and Auwna made a tight loop, swinging over top of them and ending up behind them. Dialing up the power higher, Auwna slaughtered the droid fighters in mere seconds. She smiled smugly. "I'd like to see Tem beat that."

BD-C0R's remains clattered to the ground in front of Tem, as he finished putting on new clothes that had been provided by Cuun. The new attire came with a new, blood red lightsaber. The same droids that had destroyed him were now carrying the ruins to their master. Cuun looked at the remains uninterestingly. "Pity. That droid cost me several million credits." The old man waved a hand. "You may now patrol the stairwell now." The droids marched off, eyeing Tem suspiciously, as far as he could tell, before vanishing into the stairwell. "Heavy War Sentry Droids are so much more reliable and cost efficient though. Better… Jedi killers… as well." Cuun said. "Now, where were we?" With a wave of his hand, he turned around, and there was a soft groan. Tem's ears perked and he stiffened. Cuun, too, became motionless. "What was that?" He demanded. "That was nothing, don't worry about it." Cuun purred. "Who's there?" Tem shouted angrily and used the Force to pull the lurker forward. The lurking person held firmly in his grip by the collar, a life-support system wheeled forward with the small, shriveled man. Tem's eyes widened to the size of Canaltha. There, cowering in his grip, was a shaking Chor Marr. Tem's father.

Xio watched the dead calm of the area above in the chambers. Nothing moved, no sound was heard. She could not even sense anything in the Force up there. Tem's bright presence washed out by the Dark Sith's power. She wondered if her Padawan could even challenge the Sith, and her heartstrings pulled taunt. She shouldn't have thought of him as a student below her, he was more important to her than that. Tem was also three times as strong as her in the Force, and was a brilliant fighter. He had never needed training… he had only wanted to be with her… The revelation was a late one, she realized, looking down at the decapitated Nex, and the mistake she had made for not trusting Tem to his promise. His promise back on Coruscant, that day when he went his way and she had stayed on hers. The day that had pulled them away from each other, but brought them back together once again, even stronger together than they had been before. Xio's Force senses burned with a new strength, fueled by the sudden emotion in her heart, she could now hear the things around her once again. Something whispered softly, and she strained to hear, than with the clarity of a bright, sunny, cloudless day on Alderaan, it spoke. _Run_.

Tem let go of his father, letting him fall clumsily to the floor. He groaned slightly, but remained unmoving otherwise. Tem staggered back and shook his head. "No." He murmured. "No!" The young man glared daggers at Cuun, and the electrical storm returned. Cuun looked around at all the electrical sparks jumping around and nodded. "So much raw Force power, and you cannot even focus it. It's coming to you, but it is not even being used. What a pity, what a _waste._" Cuun purred. Tem snarled and called both of his lightsabers to his hands, the blood red blade and emerald blade igniting in midair then slapping against his palms. He took up a ready position and watched Cuun lazily pull out his lightsaber and ignite it. Tem tried to rush the old man, but it was in vain. He fought furiously, and made the same deathly lightsaber sweeps that had destroyed so many foes before. But Cuun was not so foolish. The old man moved faster than lightning and was gaining ground on Tem, while on the defensive. He was loosing more and more ground, ending up very close to the edge of the platform, before the long drop down the elevator shaft. With one shove in the Force, Tem sent the old man back. He took the chance to rush him again before he found his footing, but it was too late. His blades met resistance, and his green lightsaber vanished from the battle, the clinging sound of metal against metal echoing to them, even over the loud crackling of the two lightsabers locked together. Then, with such grace and subtlety, Cuun's lightsaber gave away, he spun from the blood red blade and he burned his against Tem's shoulder, burning through muscle, skin, and even bone. The arm went limp, and the lightsaber fell away, out of his grasp. Cuun smiled darkly and shoved Tem with the Force, the blow sending him to the ground on his back, sliding to a stop just as the edge of the elevator shaft. "Tem, you take me for a fool. A weak, old fool. I'm hurt." Cuun said, oddly in a very soothing voice. "But now, you will die, and I will take your youth and your power. I gave you the chance to save the galaxy from me. You were the only one even capable of stopping me. But your emotion made you stupid, and now you have lost all hope." Cuun's voice became sterner. "And you must be finished off." Red lightning sparked from Cuun's fingertips, and they burned through Tem's body. It felt as if his skin was being ripped away, millimeter by millimeter. Each second, Tem seemed to get smaller, and weaker. His arms thin, he clenched his small, little, wrinkled hand into a fist and wheezed his last few breaths. His hair had begun to die as well, turning gray at the tips. Cuun slowly became younger, with each passing second while Tem thrashed on the ground and turned into a, barely, living skeleton. Wrinkled skin firmed and tightened, muscles formed and a well-developed body filled the baggy robes. The only feature about the old man that didn't change was his white hair. But that hardly mattered to Tem, he had failed the Jedi, the Valcuns, and his troops. He had failed his friends, Xio, and now, his father, for the second time in a lifetime. _At least, it won't happen again, dad. _Tem's weary eyes laid on the shriveled man collapsed behind Cuun. He gave into the temptation of an eternal sleep, and closed his eyes.

Chor watched as his son thrashed on the ground, his body fighting against the red lightning, that seemed to drain him of his youth and strength, and transfer it into the wicked old man that had tortured him for so long. Hatred bubbled in Chor, but his body was too weak to follow any command to take action. His eyes fell on Tem's lightsaber, the green one, not the vile red one. It was nice, and smooth, it kind of looked like his mothers' prop lightsaber, that she used for teaching Tem. His mind reflected the day that they were all together, when they had gone to confront Garum. Tem had run off, and he and Sala had stood across from the fat man. It should have been easy enough, but Cuun had been there. Sala made the mistake of firing at the old man, her blaster shot reflected by the blood red lightsaber, and pounding into her chest in a flash of light. Light flashed as the electricity sparked against the metal around them. He looked into the lightsaber and saw Tem's reflection. He was so thin, so frail. Chor looked at his own thin arm and began to shake violently. His whole body convulsed and he suddenly gained the strong will to move. Grabbing the lightsaber, he stood up, and took several wobbly steps towards the old man. Igniting the green lightsaber, he made a clumsy swipe, missing Cuun, and severing the life-support system attached to him. Cuun turned around quickly, and shouted. "What?" Chor took satisfaction in the chance. "You won't take my son, like you took my wife." Chor growled and plunged the lightsaber into the black robes, burning clean through to the other side.

It was as if the old man exploded into vapor. His robes stiffened and white gases, with a shrill screech, raced out of the dark cloth. Tem watched as the rush of air knocked back his father, and sent the lightsaber rolling into darkness. He watched the streams of white gas flow away, and Tem decided he would need it to regain his strength, or he would die. Building up all the energy he could with the Force, he called all the gas to him. It formed a misty bubble in front of him and slowly seeped into his body through his fingertips. His body regained its mass and muscles formed. He had been returned to his former self. A strand of his hair hung over his face and he examined the gray ends. At least, most of him had been returned to his former self. His mind swam with the knowledge of centuries of teachings. Knowledge of the old Sith Empire, coordinates in the far reaches of the Unknown Regions, and dark Force techniques that were beyond Tem's comprehension, but not beyond his power. He could destroy whole planets now, or convince the midichlorians to create a new planet. He was now the master of the universe, and he could decide every factor. Yet, he was empty inside. There lay Chor, struggling to breathe, and coughing violently. "Dad…" Tem murmured and crawled to his father's side. Another series of coughs shook Chor. He smiled wryly, as if he was not even sitting at deaths doorstep. "Look at you. Mister big man Jedi." He laughed weakly. "Dad, don't talk. I'll get help. There's probably some medpacs here, and I can get you to my ship…" Tem said. "Ship? You own a ship? Let me guess, a sleek little thing that can outrun all the ships in the galaxy?" Chor grinned, bringing forward old memories long forgotten. "I'm dying, and there's no two ways about it, Tem. You can get me your fancy help, but I like to think… I served my purpose here. Besides, I can be with your mother now." Chor said, his mood not deterring. "Then mom is gone…" Tem murmured. " 'Fraid so." His father said, coughing once more. "I'm… sorry our reunion had to be like this. But I would rather choose this situation, over any other, because at least here, I know you grew up to be a fine young man." He smiled thinly and grabbed Tem's shoulder. "You've made me proud." Then suddenly, the old man shoved Tem away. "Go! Run! You don't have much time before this place comes down. Your friends'll blow it to the ground with you inside if they still think Cuun's alive!" Chor snarled. Tem sat shocked for a minute, but regained himself. He nodded, grabbed his things and went for the turbolift. "Don't regret running again, Tem." Chor shouted after him. "You're letting me finally rest in peace."

The gun turrets fell away, and exploded. Cardan ships were turning tail and running, with Valcun capital ships not far behind. Myta and Auwna's ships met up and made the decent through the atmosphere. "BattleNet is bringing up the targets now." Auwna said over the comm. "Copy that." Anti-air laser fire barraged the sky and the two separated quickly. Myta wasted no time and fired her ion cannon down at the turrets below. Auwna fired a proton torpedo and fired blindly down below. They weren't alone though. Soon, four more ships joined them. Two Outriders and two Valcuns raced down and laid waste to the ground guns, giving Myta and Auwna a clear shot for the power station. The two ships burned atmosphere, heading directly for the power station. Four more ships gathered around them, and switched to secondary weapons. "Commanderz, there isa messagez comings from the grounds." Ypri's familiar voice floated to her. "Patch it through." Auwna said, distracted by the tools in her cockpit. Only a few thousand more klicks. "Hey beautiful." Ruwn's voice filled her cockpit. She felt a weight lift off her chest. "Good to hear your voice. Can this weight? I'll be down in a few minutes." Auwna said, reaching to turn off the comm. "No, it can't." Ruwn said sternly. Auwna's hand stopped short. Only five seconds away from the firing point. "What is it?" Auwna asked insistently. "Tem's still in the power station." Her eyes widened and she changed the frequency on the comm. "All ships pull up! Hold your fire! We still have troops in the structure!" She shrieked, slamming her ship up and around. But it was too late. Torpedoes were screaming into the power station, meeting their target head on.

Everyone on the ground watched as the torpedoes rocketed through the power stations main corridor and blossomed into explosions through the core of the structure. It sent shock waves through the ferrocrete and durasteel, until it finally gave and crumbled in on itself. Mande and Xio rushed towards the ruins, followed by Ruwn and several other Valcuns. Xio didn't care who followed her; she had to find Tem. She couldn't let him die without knowing she was sorry. Tears filled her eyes at the thought and two Valcuns restrained her from going any further. She struggled viciously against their grip to no avail. Mande's hand fell on her shoulder and Xio sagged into the Frozian, tears streaming down her face. "He's gone…" She murmured softly. Mande looked down at her sadly, her sharp face heavy with sorrow. Xio couldn't sense him in the Force anymore, but it had not been extinguished. There was little hope, but Xio would cling to that hope desperately. "Auwna will be landing soon. She can organize a search party."

A bubble of safety had formed around Tem. The dust settled and his eyes focused on the heavy boots of human in front of him. His eyes searched upwards and met the face of Taru Tyenn, the dark lord of his dream. "You'd best be grateful." The dark lord threatened moving aside weak building structure aside to further ensure their safety. "Taru… No… You're not real…" Taru stood motionless for a second, then stalked towards him. "Not… real?" He growled. A lightsaber flew to his hand and ignited, stopping bare centimeters from Tem's forehead. It was close enough to make his skin bubble and blister though. "I am very much real, as the pain you are experiencing now. Do not forget that." Taru snarled and deactivated the lightsaber, putting it back on his belt and hefting up the remains of Budecore. Stripping the droid of an arm and its ID plate, he tucked it into a hidden pocket, deep in his robes. "Well, get up. We have work to do." Taru said shortly. Tem struggled to his feet and followed after the dark lord. "Wait, what happened on the outside?" Tem asked. Taru turned and waved a hand across Tem's eyes. He saw the fires of war across Heleska. Bodies lay everywhere, along with the scrap metal of destroyed droids. Ruwn's body lay trapped underneath the body of a Zentr, Xio slashed across the throat and buried deep in the ruins of the power station, and Mande maimed from falling debris. Then the battle in space took over Tem's view. He saw Auwna's ship, soaring brilliantly, destroying ships with ease, only to be destroyed by a stray turbolaser blast. Myta's ship was also there, Tem regretting the decision to let the Firrereon come. Her ship too, exploded, and the whole Valcun fleet was destroyed. "There is nothing for you now. Come with me, and we will fix this galaxy. Take me to your ship."

Taru, Tem and the remaining droids, two HWSDs, including Defor, three battle droids and a severely damaged Beamer, were brought on board _Reason For Doubt_, and they all worked controls. Tem sat at the pilots' seat while Taru watched contently from behind. "What's our destination?" Tem asked. "We will go to the Cardan homeworld of Quitun. There we will amass the droid armies. We will need an army after all." Taru explained. Tem nodded and filled in the coordinates. "You're the boss."

Auwna ran into Ruwn's arms, both shouting in joy and relief, tears streaking their faces. Similar joyous reunions dotted the battlefield around them, as Valcun troops were reunited with friends, family and lovers. Many were brought with news of the deaths of those close to them, Ypri the most devastated of all. His whole family had been lost during the battle in space. Killed when _Sundant Down_'s replacement, _Oridian_, was torn apart from a combination of the relentless gun turrets and a Cardan cruiser twice its size. Xio could not find Tem anywhere and search parties into the ruins had turned up nothing. Mande had remained by Xio's side, strongly tied to the young man, she would prove valuable in his recovery. Dusk had fallen, and Xio had lost all hope, sitting atop a storage cylinder, meditating. Mande was nearby, but pacing back and forth, hope still burning in her Frozian heart. Auwna, followed by Ruwn, walked up to them slowly, her face taunt. Xio slid off the cylinder and gave her full attention to the Zabrak. "What is it?" Xio asked. Auwna hesitated, opened her mouth but no words came. The taunt look slowly faded, and she looked down, shaking her head. Ruwn stepped forward, holding burnt, torn and ruined clothing in his hands. "We found this in the ruins. They were Tem's." Ruwn said, sorrow filled his eyes, but he kept his face tight. The two Jedi stood, unmoving, looking at the clothes. "Gone." Mande murmured. "Impossible…" Xio did not utter a word. A young officer came up and saluted. "Commander, reports of an old Republic cruiser, dating back to the Mandalorian Wars, has been spotted leaving the Heleska system. The ID signature read _Reason For Doubt_." The officer reported. Auwna turned fiercely, grabbing the young man's jacket. "Why wasn't I informed sooner? That is Tem Marr's personal ship! He is missing in action, and presumed dead! I want a full report ASAP. Do you understand me, officer?" Auwna yelled. Wide-eyed, the young man nodded and quickly retreated. Mande's eyes sparkled with newfound hope, and Xio turned to look at the first few stars that had formed on the horizon. _Still alive…_


End file.
